Acuña
by minixoxmya
Summary: Have you ever wanted to just up and leave and head out on a big adventure into the unknown? For most people its fantasy but for Troy it was reality based on a dream but what happens when that dream turns sour and hes left with nothing? Eventual T&G.
1. Acuña

**Acuña**

_**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT THE PLOT FOR THIS STORY. **_

_**So I just thought up this idea today, I'm not sure if its going to work yet but you'll never know if you don't try. So you will need to let me know what you think once you've read the first chapter. **_

Ciudad Acuña_, Mexico. Late July 2014_

Troy Bolton sat in complete shock, staring straight at the wall of his uncomfortable apartment in the dirty town of Acuña, close to the boarder with the United States.

His strong need to discover the world, along with the strains of the average American life had forced him to pack his bags and leave his comfortable life in Albuquerque for the less comfortable life traveling around South America.

He created a plan based on a dream, of all the beautiful places he could see and all the amazing things he could do.

But this was never part of the dream.

He looked down at the tiny girl who was cradled in his arms, it soon becoming clear that he had no idea what to do. He had never needed to take care of anyone but himself, he had never really wanted it any other way, but now he had no choice.

The girl in his arms began to whimper, how could he possibly take care of someone else when he could barely even take care of himself.

He looked around at the bare stonewalls of his cold, dark and dirty apartment that he had acquired just days ago. He couldn't say that he was happy here, or that he didn't wish he were in a nice, warm, cozy apartment somewhere close to home. There was no way that he could keep her here.

He stood up from his chair swiftly, placing the girl gently down on the hard couch as he did.

He ran into his room, grabbing the bag that had held the contents of his life for the last year and a half. He ran from his room, delicately picking up the girl from the couch before rushing out of the door.

---

El Paso Border Control Point, Texas USA. August 2014

"Documentation sir?" a large border control officer stepped in front of Troy blocking his path. Troy began to sweat, he hadn't even thought about documentation for him or the girl that was sleeping unaware in his arms.

"I…I don't have any sir, the girl is mine I swear it to you but I don't have any documentation." The officer sighed frustratedly, taking Troy by the shoulder and leading him towards a small office.

He sat down at a desk in front of a tired looking computer. He began typing but soon looked up at Troy, clearly searching for more information.

"Name and date of birth?" He smoke flatly, showing no sympathy for Troy and the obvious mistakes he'd made.

"Troy Bolton. March 20 1989." The man typed the information, looked closely at the screen before looking up again at Troy, this time examining his facial features very carefully.

"And the girl?" Troy looked down at her, staring closely at her tiny features. His mind took him back 5 years to when he would sit and dream with a girl about what their children would be like.

This was never part of the dream.

"Sofia Sanchez. She was born sometime in July in Acuña." The officer once again sighed, his frustrations building even further.

"Look, son. There's no record of this baby anywhere. I'm letting you through but we're gonna have to take the child." Troy frowned, his grip on the baby tightened. She hadn't come into his life in the best of ways but there was no way he was letting someone take her away from him.

"No way, please I'm all that she has now. She's my daughter, don't take her from me for no reason." Troy wondered what would happen to her if he was to just leave her there and make his way back to his old life, but there was something in him telling him he simply couldn't.

"Look Mr. Bolton, this is what I'm going to do but only because it's almost midnight and I want to go home. I'm issuing you with this notice that says as soon as you reach your destination, which I'm assuming is Albuquerque given that is where you are from, you must seek a DNA test and have the baby give the necessary vaccinations for entrance to the United States. Go before I change my mind." Troy quickly stood up, leaving the office and stepping across the imaginary line that separated the two countries.

He took a deep breath, taking in the warm Texas air. He hadn't really thought about how he would get to his destination from here, his drivers' license had long disappeared. He reached deep into his pocket, pulled out what money he had left and sighed in frustration. Twenty Peso…there was no way $1.50 was going to get him anywhere.

"Looks like were walking home, Princess" Troy gently brushed one of the girls tiny curls from her face, he couldn't believe how much he had taken to being a father since she was trust into his arms so suddenly. He couldn't really remember what he did with his days before her.

---

_Somewhere between El Paso and Santa Teresa NM, USA. August 2014._

Troy walked slowly along the dirt track that ran adjacent to the highway.

He was tired and as the hours moved into early morning, the air became crisp and cold.

The baby had started crying hours ago and there was nothing he could do to make it stop. With no money for infant milk, all he could do was let her suck on the corner of a muslin sheet dipped in water.

He had been watching as headlight rushed past him, not a single was stopping. It wasn't like he was expecting him to stop, nor was he asking them to stop but he hoped when someone noticed he had a baby that maybe they just might pull over.

"Where are you heading to son?" Troy looked up and stopped an older man talking to him through the window of a large RV that was pulled up on the side of the highway.

"Albuquerque" Troy responded simply, returning his attention to the baby in his arms. He wished desperately that he could give her what she needed but all he could do for now was try and calm her down.

"You'll be walking until Christmas if you carry on like this. Get in, we're heading to Salem" Troy considered the idea for a few short seconds before smiling at the man and nodding his head in gratitude.

"Thank you so much, I'm really sorry about the baby, it's just she's hungry. I hope you don't mind the noise" Troy adjusted his grip on the girl, lifting her closer to his shoulder and stroking her back gently.

"Well we can't have the little one hungry. My daughter has a baby about the same age, I'm sure there's a bottle and some formulae left over from her visit, right Hank?" This time it was a woman's voice that filled Troy's ears. He looked up at the RV door opened and an older woman stepped out.

Troy began to feel relieved that none of the other drivers had pulled over to offer him assistance, he knew that with these two people he could be able to find a few hours of comfort for himself and the near hysterical girl cradled against his shoulder.

"Where have you come from? You look like you've been walking for hours." The woman ushered Troy into the warmth of the RV, sitting him down on the large comfortable couch.

"Mexico, I hitched rides here and there, but we walked a lot of the way. We left Acuña in late July." The lady walked back to the kitchen area with bottle filled with warm formulae milk and handed it to Troy.

"Thank you so much, I don't know how I would have fed her if you guys hadn't have come along" Troy placed the bottle against the Sofia's lips, she accepted it immediately and began taking in the much needed milk.

"Hank spotted that you had a baby, we couldn't just let you walk along the highway, had something happened to either of you we could have never forgiven ourselves. I'm Mary-Ann by the way" Troy smiled and nodded, looking back down at Sofia whose tears had finally subsided.

"Troy and Sofia" Mary-Ann smiled warmly at Troy. She was fascinated by the young man that sat in front of her; she couldn't quite work out how he had ended up with a tiny baby, walking to Albuquerque from Mexico.

"What's your story?" She asked, desperate to know how such a smart looking boy ended up in such a harsh situation.

"How long have you got?" Troy joked; he lifted up Sofia and looked deep into her dark brown eyes. It definitely had been a long journey from where he started, to where he found himself today.

"Between here and Salem…about 2 hours and 45 minutes" Mary-Ann joked back. Troy made himself comfortable on the couch, laying down a now sleeping Sofia in his lap.

"Well, I started off really happy in Albuquerque…"

_Troy opened his eyes slowly, taking in his surroundings. It took him a few minutes to realize where he was but as soon as he felt a gentle breath brush against his chest he knew right away._

_His eyes moved from the ceiling down to the sleeping beauty enclosed in his arms. He couldn't believe that she was his; she was so beautiful._

_He ran a finger gently down her body, starting at her smooth cheek before moving down to her perfect sized breasts before tracing a pattern around her belly button gently._

"_Hmm, morning" she whispered, his gentle touch causing her to wake from her deep sleep._

"_I didn't mean to wake you, I just cant believe how beautiful you are. Every time I get to see you like this and hold you like this, it blows me away." She smiled up at the boy who made her feel so safe when she was tucked into his arms. _

"_We've been together for years, I cant believe you still think like that." She looked deeply into his eyes before kissing him gently on the lips. _

"_I'll always think like that, even when we're old and wrinkly, you'll always be the most beautiful girl in the world" she blushed, snuggling her face into his warm neck._

"_I love you," she giggled, kissing the stop on his neck that she knew gave him goose pimples._

"_I love you too"_

_---_

"She really was my whole entire world" Troy told Mary-Ann. The happy memories of all of the years that they had shared together sending a warm sensation through his veins.

"So why did you leave her?" She asked, curious to know, if Troy's previous life was so perfect why did he run.

"I left because of the pressures from other people, she never put pressure on me but I knew that if I stayed in Albuquerque I would go mad. So that meant leaving her to. I never told anyone I was leaving, I just did it" Troy explain. He looked down at Sofia wondering, if he hadn't left would he be a daddy anyway.

---

_Troy stopped his frantic packing for a second to take a look at the 20 year old sleeping beauty between his sheets, blissfully unaware of what was happening around her._

_He couldn't bare that he had to leave her behind but he knew but it was the only way he could escape the pressures that were driving him to insanity. _

_He shoved the last T-shirt in his bag before stepping closer to his bed and kneeling next to the sleeping beauty. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, a single tear running down his cheek. He was going to miss her so much._

"_I love you baby. God I love you so much. Don't you ever forget that." He placed more kisses lightly over her face before touching her lips with his, applying just enough pressure to make her kiss back but not enough to wake her. _

"_I want you to carry on your life like I was never here. Get married to the perfect guy and have lots of beautiful babies. Your so beautiful" he touched her soft hair, he so desperately wanted to touch every single part of her body but he knew the longer he stayed the longer it would get much harder to leave._

_He slowly walked across his room towards the door; carefully avoiding the floorboards he knew would creek loudly and wake everyone in the house. _

_Opening the front door quietly, he took one look back at his old house before turning back around and disappearing off into the world._

_---_

"This is us when we were 18. I couldn't bare to leave this picture behind" Troy handed a picture of a couple snuggled together on a hammock.

"What happened after you left?" Mary-Ann was becoming engrossed in the story the young man was telling her, it was like something out of a movie but the true reality of it forced her to need to hear more.

"I'd traveled through Texas mostly, I remember I was staying in a motel and my face came on the news. My mom and Gabriella were there, crying desperately for me to come home. So I ran even further." As Troy told his story, he wondered what would have happened if he had been found. It was also the first time he stopped to think what was going to happen when he finally did arrive in Albuquerque.

"Did you ever make contact with anyone?" the next question was asked, prompting Troy to carry on the story of the journey that had led him into complete loneliness.

"No, I knew that if I spoke to anyone I'd miss them so much I'd do home. That wasn't what I wanted" he sighed, all of the happy memories suddenly flooding his head.

"Tell me how this beautiful little girl happened" Mary-Ann took a sleeping Sofia into her arms, examining her delicate features and lightly tanned skin, before placing her down gently in Troy's lap.

---

_Troy walked around the small Mexican town that he had just arrived in. It was the first time he'd visited somewhere so small but he definitely liked it. It was definitely somewhere he could imagine himself living in for a long time. _

_He spotted a club; in his mind it was the best way for him to meet new people in the area, so he went in. _

"_Hey there Papi, haven't seen you around here before" a small Mexican girl approached him almost immediately after he walked through the door. Her English was broken but easily understandable to Troy. _

"_Just arrived in town," Troy allowed his eyes to move up and down the girl's body several times. She looked just like the girl that he'd left behind. He watched her carefully as she pulled his body closer to hers._

"_Well then, let me show you around" She took hold of Troy's hand and led him out of the club into the sticky night air._

_Before he knew it, he was naked. Having sex with someone who he didn't even know. It was something he thought he'd never do, but here he was doing it. _

_He knew that it was wrong but once the feelings of pleasure began to move through his veins he couldn't stop himself. _

_It was over as quickly as it began though, he couldn't bare what he'd done. He hadn't been with anyone since he left Albuquerque; it had felt like he was cheating. _

---

"I didn't see her after that. She must have known where I was living though, because she came around one day with Sofia and never came back. I was so shocked; I couldn't believe it. There I was living in a horrible apartment, I knew that I couldn't stay there with her. She deserves better" Troy sighed; it pained him to remember the terrible thing he had done.

To some it might not have been a big deal but to him it was horrible, he'd made a promise to himself that it was something he'd never do. Yet there he, paralyzed to stop.

He desperately regretted that night, yet a piece of him was thankful that it brought him Sofia.

"This is us son. I'm sorry we couldn't take you further but it's late, were stopping over until the morning and then turning off the highway." Hank pulled into the parking lot of a motel before turning off the engine.

"Thank you so much for bringing us this far. I don't know what we would have done had you not come along. Thank you" Troy smiled sincerely at Mary-Ann and Hank and he stepped out of the RV into cold night air.

"Come on Princess. Time to look for another ride" Troy held Sofia closer to his body, if he had money he would have gotten them a room for the night but with only a dollar fifty, that didn't seem like an option.

---

Troy smiled happily to himself.

He was finally home.

Turning around to thank the driver of the small truck who had picked him up in Salem and dropped him and Sofia safely at Albuquerque bus depot.

"We're home baby girl" Troy whispered, looking down at the baby sleeping soundly in his arms.

As he walked up the large street slowly, he remembered all of the happy times he had had here. He almost couldn't remember why it was he had left in the first place.

He followed the route to his parent's house that was still ingrained in his mind; he could never forget it. He smiled at the sights that he recognized and marveled at the ones he had never seen before, taking them in and storing them safely in his memory.

Before he knew it he was on the street where his parent's house was situated, it suddenly dawned on him, what if they didn't live there anymore?

As he got closer to the house, he noted that it still looked the same. The outside walls were still painted a happy shade of baby blue and the yellow flowers that lined the pathway still in perfectly neat rows.

He walked up the pathway nervously, wondering what would happen when the door he was approaching opened. Would it even be his parents behind the door? Or would it be someone he had never seen before?

Taking a deep breath he knocked on the door, waiting painstakingly for someone…anyone to open it.

As the door opened, Troy looked up from Sofia's tired features into a pair of eyes he knew so well.

"Mom," he tried to force out more words, but the emotions overwhelming his body forced his vocal chords to become paralyzed.

The sound of shattering glass sounded through the air, as Lucille Bolton dropped the glass of orange juice that once rested in her in hand. She could not believe her eyes.

"Oh my god…"

**So there's chapter one, I don't think this will be a really, really, really long story but we'll see how it plays out. I'd love to hear what you all thought of it, its something a little different for me and feedback about whether it works would be greatly appreciated!**


	2. Bella

**Thank you so much to those who left long reviews (especially Jb!) the long ones are the ones that mean the most to me. I love it when you take a few seconds from your lives to tell me what you liked about the chapter and if there is anything you would like to see in future chapters. Anyway after seeing advanced screenings of HSM3 I am super inspired to write so here's the next chapter!! Don't forget to leave nice long reviews )**

"Oh my god…" Troy began to move nervously on his feet, the look on his mothers face was a look of pure shock.

After hearing the loud commotion; Jack Bolton swiftly made his way to the doorway, completely unprepared for the sight that he would see.

He tried so hard to speak but all his words failed him, there was the son who had the authorities believing he was probably dead, stood in his doorway with nothing less than a tiny baby in his arms.

"Troy…" he finally managed to say, he often imagined how he would feel if he saw Troy again, but he never imagined that one of those feelings would be anger.

"Why don't you come in" Troy sensed awkwardness in his mothers voice, like she didn't really know what to say to him.

As he entered the house he realized that nothing had changed, the walls were the same color and the same pictures hung in the same places.

He stopped in front of one picture that hung above mahogany chest in the hallway. It was a picture that had been taken by his mother at his graduation. It was of himself and a girl, staring deeply into each other's eyes and smiling at one another. He couldn't understand why he had ever left her.

"I think you have some explaining to do…I don't know where your supposed to start but it better start soon" Jack spoke firmly to his son as they sat down in the living room on the same soft, deep couch that he remembered so well.

"Why did you leave us, Troy? What did we do that was so terrible that you had to go?" Troy could now sense desperation lacing his mother's words rather than the previous sense of awkwardness.

"I just…there was so much talk about college and growing up and I wasn't ready for any of that but no one could see it. I just had to get away" Troy looked down at his lap, beginning to feel ashamed of his actions.

"So you just ran away from your problems? From us, from Gabriella? Do you have any idea how broken she was when you left?" Jack's anger began to come to a head. He had watched the girl he thought of as a daughter cry herself to sleep for months, that image wasn't just going to disappear now that Troy was back.

Troy tensed at the mention of her name. He hadn't heard it in a long time, he refused to say it knowing that hearing it would only make running away more painful.

"I saw you guys on TV, I know you really wanted me home and I know that I should have known better but you have to try and understand" Jack sighed angrily, sitting himself down in his chair once again.

"So who's baby girl is this?" Lucille asked, knowing that if she didn't move the conversation away from Troy's disappearance, Jack could just push himself to disappear all over again.

Troy smiled widely at the mention of Sofia, and although fearful of his parent's reaction, he couldn't help but be amazingly proud of what he had helped create.

"She's mine…Sofia Sanchez" Lucille gasped, gripping her hands tightly to the arms of the chair to prevent herself from fainting.

"Where's her mother?" Jack's face remained cold and stern, deep inside himself he was blissfully delighted that he was a grandpa, but there was a massive something holding him back from accepting it.

"Mexico. I'm not proud of what I did but I was in a terrible place. I had only seen her once and then a few months ago she turned up at my door with Sofia and left again. I waited a while just in case she came back but she never did" Troy glanced down at Sofia, she was so innocent in this whole messy situation but he couldn't help but wonder how his parents would have reacted if she hadn't have been there.

"How do you even know that she's yours. You met this girl just one time. She could have been sleeping with anyone" Jack began to raise his voice again. Lucille quickly gave him a stern look before making her way over to the couch, taking tiny Sofia into her arms and examining her carefully.

"She's beautiful, poor baby girl she's got no idea. God Troy, how could you be so stupid. You should be sat here with Gabriella right now introducing us to your baby. This is just so wrong" this time it was Lucille who was raising her voice, although she had been stern towards Jack's outbursts previously, she could no longer contain the hurt and disappointment that were controlling her body.

"Can we please stop talking about Gabriella. This whole thing has nothing to do with her." Troy spat angrily at his mother, he didn't mean for his words to be angry but just the mention of Gabriella's name caused his regrets to heighten.

"This has everything to do with her. Do you have any idea at all what you did to her? She ended up in hospital Troy; she could have died because of you. She wouldn't eat; she wouldn't sleep. You nearly killed her Troy." Jack angrily made his way across the room, pulling Troy from the couch by his shirt and shouting his furious words in his face.

The guilt that had been breeding in Troy since he arrived suddenly intensified. He had always assumed that she would have moved on with her life, met an amazing guy, had amazing babies but he had never thought that she would have taken his leaving so hard.

"I…is she ok now?" Troy had always considered himself to be emotionally strong but the thought that he may have permanently ruined Gabriella's life was enough to break him.

"Just about, she graduated from University of New Mexico about 18 months ago. She wont date anyone, there are plenty of guys who would love to date her but she just wont do it. I hope that if you see her it will make you realize just what you left behind, she's grown increasingly beautiful as the years have passed by." Lucille stepped in to answer the question, knowing that the only information Jack would give out to Troy would be that she wasn't dead.

"I'm so sorry for running, for not coming home when you begged me to, for breaking Gabriella. I just, I had to get away from everything. Please don't ever think that leaving was easy" Troy looked down at the floor, closing his eyes tightly to prevent tears from flowing down his cheeks.

"We know that you sorry son, we really do. It is just going to take us a while to get used to having you back" Jack smiled at his son, his anger slowly dispelling, allowing happiness to take it's place.

"Thanks dad" Troy smiled, taking a step forwards and embarrassing his father tightly in his arms.

It felt good to be home.

--

Troy woke the next morning feeling refreshed, for the first time in forever he had slept in a warm, comfortable bed.

Today he decided, would be the day that he made the short trip to the University of New Mexico's Women's health and Family Clinic to receive a DNA test, Sofia's vaccinations and also a check up for himself.

After having his mom's famous pancakes for breakfast and getting himself and Sofia ready to leave the house, he walked the 2 miles to the hospital.

"Good morning sir, how can I help you?" the cheerful receptionist smiled at Troy as he approached the desk.

"I have a little bit of a situation, I should probably show you this" Troy produced the documentation that had been given to him by the boarder control officer.

"That wont be a problem sir, we can have all of that completed today. If you take a seat just over there and you'll be called as soon as there is a nurse free." The receptionist smiled brightly again. Troy chuckled to himself, either she was having a very good day or she was taking something.

Troy sat patiently in the waiting room, bouncing a giggling Sofia on his knees. It wasn't long before his name flashed on up on the calling screen. He made his way down a long corridor lined with offices, knocking on the forth door in the left.

As he opened the door he spotted a small brunette nurse sat behind a computer screen typing fiercely.

"I'll be with you in just one moment" her voice sounded sweet, he was sure that he recognized it but he was sure it was just his mind playing tricks.

"We're not in a rush" Troy smiled, sitting himself down on the comfortable chair in front of the desk. He waited just a few more seconds until the nurse was finally ready to see him.

She slid her chair from behind the desk, looking up at him with the expected smile on her face. It didn't take long for that smile to drop.

"Uh…" her mouth hung open and her eyes grew wide, she knew she was tired but she never thought her mind would play with her like this.

"Bella" Troy whispered softly. He hadn't expected to run into her this soon, he hadn't had time to prepare himself for the conversation that was inevitably ahead of him.

The name that he had used for her all of those years ago suddenly filled her ears once again. Every time she went to speak nothing came out, she tried so hard to speak but all that came out were sounds of shock,

"But you…they said that you'd. Oh my god" she stood up quickly from her chair, watching as Troy matched her actions. She threw herself forwards, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and her legs around his waist as she cried softly into his neck.

Troy wrapped his arms around her back, holding her as close to his body as possible, relishing the feeling of her body against his after so long.

"I thought you were dead. How could you just leave me like that. How could you?" Hurt and anger began to rush through her body. Her fists tightened into balls as she hit him strongly on the chest and shoulders.

He didn't dare push her away; he knew that after a few minutes of hitting him she could break down once again into hysterical tears. He needed to be holding her, whether she wanted him to or not.

"Gabriella, baby girl. Shh, it's ok." Troy ran his hand gently up and down her back, feeling the soft material of her lilac scrubs on his skin.

She released her legs from his waist, her arms from his neck and took a big step backwards.

"Ok? Ok? It's not ok! I was just starting to come to terms with knowing that you were never coming back. That you would never hold me again, never kiss me again, never make love to me again. It hurt so much Troy and you suddenly waltz back into my life with a baby, telling me everything is ok? You need you head checked" she sat back down in her chair, leaning her elbows on her desk and resting her head in her hands.

"Ella, just listen to me baby. I never wanted to leave you, it was the hardest thing I ever had to do." Gabriella took a deep breath as she took in Troy's words. She grabbed a tissue wiped her face and plastered the smile back on her face.

"So Mr. Bolton, what can I do for you today" Gabriella spoke, completely detaching herself from the previous conversation and moving on like it was any other consultation.

"I um, I need a DNA test to prove to the authorities that she's mine, border control requests. I also need her vaccinations done and I um was wondering if I could have a check up" Gabriella nodded, pulling three forms from the large gray filing cabinet.

She sighed heavily as she flicked through the 'check up' form, realizing that this wasn't just going to be a quick visit. She picked up the phone on her desk and pressed 0 heavily.

"Hey Jen, this is going to be a long one. Don't send anyone to me for at least the next 45 minutes" Gabriella looked up at Troy quickly before looking down again at the forms and beginning to fill some of the information in.

"Right then let's get started. I need you to fill in this consent form and all of the information at the top of all three forms." She pushed the pieced of paper across the desk towards Troy.

"I uh…I don't know her date of birth" Troy spoke awkwardly as he looked at Gabriella. She raised her eyebrow and the corner of her mouth in distaste.

"Classy. Fill in the rest, I'll call the birth hospital and let you know" Gabriella looked back down to the needles that she was preparing, carefully drawing up required sets of infant vaccines.

Once she was finished, she stood from her seat and walked towards the stroller that Sofia was laid in happily.

"Come on cutie, let's get this all over with" Gabriella picked up the baby gently, passing her to Troy and guiding them both towards the bed.

"How many is she having today?" Troy asked, concerned for the emotional well being of his daughter.

"There will be four. Two in the left arm, one in the right and one on her butt" Gabriella lifted up the first needle and flicked it gently, making sure that there were no air bubbles in the liquid.

"Will you hurt her?" Troy asked, holding Sofia tightly to his body nervously.

"If you keep her still, I promise you she will hardly feel a thing" Troy nodded, positioning Sofia in a way that gave Gabriella easy access to her arms.

"Alright precious, this is gonna hurt just a tiny little bit." Gabriella spoke softly as she quickly carried out all four vaccinations, making sure that the least amount of stress was caused to Sofia.

Once all of the tests and vaccinations were completed, Gabriella signed the boarder control forms, handed them to Troy and began to walk towards the door.

"Wait Gabriella please, you have to talk to me. I came back for you, I needed to be with you" she stopped in her tracks with her back still facing Troy. She desperately wanted to be in his arms again but the hurt that had grown over the last 5 years was blocking her path to him.

"Please don't Troy. I've struggled so hard to push you to the back of my mind, but you were always there. I used to stay at your house to try and feel close to you. I remember one night that was freezing cold, I wanted to desperately for you to walk through the door and hold me in your arms…but you never came" she turned around to look at Troy. Her need to be in his arms growing by the second, but the barrier of pain still blocked her way.

"Gabi, I would have taken you with me if I could, please know that. I never meant to hurt you baby. Your still my whole world" Gabriella looked down at the floor, her eyebrows knitted together and tears forming in her eyes.

"If I'm your whole world, how did you end up with a baby that's not mine to?" Her words cut like knives through Troy's heart. He hadn't even thought about how she would feel about Sofia, he had been so busy worried about her reaction towards him.

"It was one stupid mistake that I wish had never happened. Please don't get me wrong I love Sofia but I love you to. I need you back in my life. Please let me back in?" Gabriella ignored Troy's requests and took Sofia into her arms.

"She's beautiful, so beautiful. You're going to be such an amazing dad to her Troy. It's such a shame she won't have her mommy" Gabriella ran her thumb over the baby's soft cheek.

Suddenly she was not able to hold her tears, allowing them to spill slowly down her cheeks.

"So then be her mommy! Gabriella, please, I need you in my life" Gabriella looked away from Troy, shaking her head sadly and placing Sofia back into her stroller.

"I cant just let you back in like that Troy. When you left things changed, I changed and I cant just go back. Please just go" Gabriella opened the door to her office slightly, allowing the outside world to spill in through the tiny gap.

Troy smiled sadly, placing his hand gently on her cheek and wiping away her tears with his thumb.

"When you find that perfect guy, don't shut him out of your life that I shut you out. I assure you it will be the biggest mistake of your life." He stepped forwards and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. He hoped desperately that this wasn't goodbye forever.

He took hold of Sofia's stroller and started to make his way out of the office. He stopped when he felt a tiny hand grab his wrist.

"Come to my apartment, we'll talk some more" Gabriella handed Troy a tiny piece of paper with her address written in black ink. He smiled down at her lovingly, he knew that he shouldn't build his hopes up because the chances of her letting him back into her life were very slim but he couldn't help but dream.

"I'll be there, see you Bella." As she watched Troy leave she couldn't believe the day she had had. She sighed, sitting herself back down in the chair, at least the day's drama was over and done with.

If only she knew.

**So there is chapter 2 finished! I'm really inspired with this story so ill be starting chapter 3 this weekend! Don't forget to review…it really only does take a second!**


	3. sleeping beauty

**You guys are giving some awesome reviews! I really appreciate it and it really makes me happy to see what you think. Suggestions for future chapters are more than welcome. Here is chapter 3, this one if a little out there so let me know, loved it or hated it? Don't forget long reviews are always greatly appreciated!**

Gabriella sat on her bed, dressed in light pink track pants and oversized white 'wildcats' hoodie that had once belonged to Troy.

She lifted the lid from the medium sized shoebox that she had reached down from the top shelf of her closet. She picked up a picture from the pile that were stored inside the dark box and smiled at it sadly.

Unbeknown to her, it had been the very same picture that Troy had never let out of his sight for the last 5 years, the same picture that he had shown all of those he had met on his journey, the same picture that kept him from giving up on life.

She ran her fingers gently across the picture, tracing his features carefully. Today had been the most overwhelming day of her life, she had convinced herself that he was dead, yet there he was sat very much alive in front of her.

'_When you find the perfect guy, don't shut him out of your life. It will be the biggest mistake you ever make' _

Troy's words haunted her mind. She knew that Troy was that perfect guy but there were so many things holding her back from letting herself fall back into his arms.

The buzzer sounding through the apartment broke Gabriella from her trance. She walked slowly over to the screen, pressing the 'view' button that allowed her to see who it was wanting to enter her apartment.

She sighed anxiously as she pressed the button, unlocking the main door that lead into her complex. She hadn't expected him to come this soon; the few seconds that she had to prepare herself were simply not enough.

A soft knock at the door signalled her preparation time was over, taking a final deep breath she made her way slowly towards her door and opened it.

"Hi" she whispered, looking down at her feet, not trusting herself to look up without falling right back into his arms.

"Can I come in? You don't have to say anything; I know it's me that has explaining to do" Gabriella stepped aside slightly, allowing Troy to enter the apartment.

Troy sat down on the living room couch gently, he wasn't exactly sure how to explain himself to Gabriella but his desire for her to be back safely in his arms drove him to find the words.

"I honestly don't know what to say to you Ella. Everyone was putting so much pressure on me and forcing me to make all these decisions, I just couldn't do it anymore. The night I left I watched you sleep for ages, I had no idea how I was going to leave you but I knew that I couldn't stay" Gabriella sat down on the chair, opposite the couch. She looked deep into Troy's eyes, hoping that he would be able to see how much hurt he had caused.

"I woke up in the morning, rolled over expecting you to be there but you were gone. I thought maybe you'd gone for a run or something but after days had passed I knew that you weren't coming home. Your mom called the police, they searched and searched for you but they never found anything. They told me they thought you were dead. I thought you were dead Troy, do you have any idea what that did to me?" Gabriella spoke calmly, all her anger had been alleviated during their earlier meeting, now all she was feeling was pain and hurt.

"I know I hurt you baby, I'm so sorry. I get that there aren't any words that will fix what's happened but you have to understand that if I hadn't of left, I would have gone crazy" Gabriella sighed, she was trying so hard to understand where Troy was coming from but she couldn't get passed the fact that he hadn't talked to her about how he was feeling.

"If everyone was putting so much pressure on you, making you so unhappy, why didn't you just say something. If you told me that I had been making you feel like that why didn't you just tell me? I would have changed" Troy's head snapped up to look Gabriella right in the eye, he had never meant for her to feel like she was the reason he left.

"Ella, god no, it was never you. You were what kept me together. You never did anything wrong I promise you. It was all about my dad going on and on about U of A and basketball and how I couldn't take the year out because I would lose the scholarship and mom going on and on about how she hope you and me would get married one day. I just couldn't do it anymore so I ran." Tears began to well up in Gabriella's eyes as her memory drifted back to the feelings she felt when Troy had left.

"I didn't know what to do without you. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep. All of the problems that felt so tiny when you were there seemed to grow so huge after you'd gone. Every time I ate I just brought it right back up again because I was so worried something horrible had happened to you. Ever time I closed my eyes to sleep all I could see you" Gabriella wiped the tears that were fiercely running down her cheeks, she hated being so vulnerable to the person who hurt her the most but her emotions were too much for her to keep inside.

"I never ever meant to you to feel that way. I hoped that you would move on with your life, meet the guy for you, and be married by now. I never wanted to hold you back or hurt you, you have to believe that El" Troy moved from the couch and sat himself down on the arm of the chair that Gabriella was sitting in.

"You're the only one I ever wanted to be with. I tried to date in college, but I just couldn't. Obviously you had no trouble" Gabriella gestured her head towards the couch where Troy had laid Sofia.

"It was never like that. We didn't date, it just happened. I was new to the area, she showed me around and the next thing I know I'm in bed with her. I never even knew her name" Troy winced; the way that he had played the sentence in his mind was completely different to the way it came out of his mouth.

"That's real great Troy. What are you going to tell Sofia when she gets older and wants to know why she's the only kid in her class without a mommy huh? Sorry princess I couldn't keep it in my boxers long enough to learn her name" Gabriella spat angrily, usually she kept those kinds of comments to herself, but there was no way that she could feel any kind of sympathy for Troy's situation.

Troy's legs collapsed beneath him, causing him to fall back down onto the couch. He couldn't believe how blunt Gabriella had been but he knew that everything she was speaking was the truth.

"I deserved that, what I did was completely fucked up and I totally get it if you want nothing to do with me because of it and I fully understand if you want to call child services and report me for being a really shitty dad because I know I cant provide for her like I should right now." Gabriella's expression softened. She was beyond mad, but she couldn't believe that Troy actually thought she would do something like that.

"I'm mad at you right now Troy, but I would never ever report you to them. I know that you adore her and that's the most important thing. I would never take her only parent away from her out of spite, you should know me better than that." Gabriella spoke softly, she wanted to make sure that any thought of child services was firmly removed from his mind and replaced with the facts that no matter how much it hurt her to see him with a baby, he was a fantastic dad.

"I'm so sorry for everything I've put you through, really I am. I don't deserve your forgiveness but I hope that I can earn your trust back. I really miss you El." Gabriella got up and walked towards the window, looking up at the stars that shone over east Albuquerque.

"I really miss you to, it's not like I'm trying to push you away Troy but I cant just forgive you like that. You left me completely broken when I needed you the most, nothing you can say justifies why you left me without even saying goodbye." Tears began to well up in Gabriella's eyes again, each new tear making a separate track down her silky cheeks.

"Will you ever be able to forgive me?" Gabriella turned around, her back how facing the cold window. She pondered Troy's question desperately trying to find a decisive answer somewhere in her thoughts.

"I honestly don't know" Troy nodded sadly. He made his way over to the mantelpiece, taking note of every picture that rested on it.

One single picture caught his eye; it was of Gabriella and his parents. She was dressed in a silver cap and gown and was smiling widely with his parents by her side.

"Where was your mom?" Troy took the picture in his hands, brushing his thumb over Gabriella's delicate face. He noticed her facial expressions change as he looked up from the picture, her brow was furrowed and the right side of her lip between her teeth.

"She got really sick not long after you left, she'd come back from working in Asia and had this horrible cough that she couldn't get rid of. She started coughing up blood so I took her to the ER and they said she had advanced tuberculosis. She tried so hard to fight but a few days after my UNM graduation she died. I'd decided to be a nurse so that I could take better care of her, she held on to see me graduate but she just couldn't carry on" Gabriella walked across to the other side of the room, she picked up a picture of herself and her mother and handed it to Troy.

He observed how tired looking Marcia Montez, sat in a wheelchair, covered in a blanket and smiling proudly up at her daughter. He couldn't believe that she wasn't here anymore, she had always been someone that he could go to for help, it broke his heart knowing that she died thinking he didn't love Gabriella.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you. God that must have been terrible, if I'd have been here I would never have let you go" Troy stepped closer to Gabriella, putting his hands gently on her shoulders and drawing her closer to him.

"Please stop saying you're sorry. Sure it would have been easier if you were here when it happened but you can't change that now. Sorry wont change anything." She snuggled herself deeper into Troy's protective arms, too afraid that if she moved herself away she would break down.

He leaned his head gently against hers, burying his face in her masses of jet-black curls. He couldn't resist pressing a gently kiss to her head, desperate to offer her every means of comfort her could.

The shrill cry of a baby broke their embrace, Troy pulled himself away from Gabriella and began making his way over to the couch where was laid comfortably.

"Wait, let me go to her." Troy frowned slightly; he couldn't understand why Gabriella would want to comfort the baby that had seemingly brought her so much pain since he had returned.

He watched as Gabriella walked over to the couch, bent down and lifted the tiny, crying girl into her arms.

"Hey there little princess, why all the tears?" She brought Sofia's face closer to her own and placed a gentle kiss on her tiny lips and nose.

"She can't be hungry, I only fed her an hour ago and she shouldn't need a diaper change" Troy began to get worried, he was still new to this parenting thing and when Sofia cried for no apparent reason he panicked that he wasn't doing the best he could to take care of her.

"She's a little warm, I'm going to go take her temperature in the bathroom and check she's not having any reactions to her vaccinations. We wont be long" Gabriella smiled at Troy before making her way towards her bedroom, rocking Sofia in her arms gently as she walked.

---

Gabriella sat herself down on the bed, keeping Sofia tight to her body. She opened up the box and pulled out the tiny thermometer and placed it gently in the baby's mouth.

"Just keep it there for a few seconds princess, I know its not very nice but we'll have you feeling better in no time." Once the thermometer beeped, Gabriella removed it from the baby's mouth and looked at it carefully.

"Let's cool you down a little shall we? Daddy's got you dress up all snuggly but its not cold is it huh?" Sofia smiled cheekily at Gabriella as she pulled the hat on the tiny girl's head.

As she pulled off the thick pink stripy one-piece that Troy had dressed her in, she checked carefully that there was no redness or swelling around the areas that Sofia had had her vaccinations.

"Your ok aren't you baby girl, just a little hot" Gabriella decided to leave the baby girl in her pink and white spotted sleeveless body suite, allowing her time to call herself down.

Gabriella laid back on the bed, lifting Sofia into the air above her. She brought her down towards her face slowly and lifted her back up into the air quickly, relishing the feel of Sofia kicking her arms and legs happily with a sparkle in her eyes.

As she looked up at the little girl, she couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of happiness and pride and she watched the girls smile grow winder and wider as her up and down game continued. She wished desperately that she could watch the tiny girl grow and be the mother that she knew she would need, but she still couldn't let herself forgive Troy.

---

Troy walked around Gabriella's apartment slowly, taking in every picture that hung on her walls and every memory of her past that reminded him so much of what they used to have.

Before he knew it 20 minutes had passed and Gabriella and Sofia still hadn't returned from the bedroom. He suddenly became worried that something was seriously wrong with Sofia and that was why they were yet to return back into the living room area.

Quickly he had his way towards Gabriella's bedroom door, he pressed his ear against it and listened carefully for any sign of the girl giggling together or any noise that might confirm his worries that Sofia was really sick.

He heard nothing.

He couldn't bare it any longer; he needed to know what was wrong with Sofia and why she had been crying for no reason. He pushed open the door quickly, expecting to see Gabriella with Sofia in her arms, but the sight that met his eyes was something completely different.

He stopped dead in his tracks; the image of Gabriella sleeping softly on her bed with Sofia snuggled into the softness of her breasts, the material of Troy's old wildcats hoodie pressed to Sofia's delicate cheeks. One of her hand supporting Sofia's tiny weight, the other smoothing comforting circles on her tiny back.

He sat down slowly on the end of Gabriella's bed, scared that if he made any kind of sharp movement it would wake the sleeping girls and shattering the beautiful image before him forever.

He lent forward gently, brushing a stray curl out of Gabriella's eyes, he looked down at Sofia suddenly shocked at how similar she and Gabriella looked. The same curly jet black hair, the same dark chocolate colored eyes.

He noticed how comfortable Sofia was around Gabriella, she would never fall asleep on him in that position, he began to realize there was no way he could bring up this beautiful baby girl without a mommy.

He had to get Gabriella back.

**So there is chapter 3. I have my first college exam at the end of this month and its suddenly dawned on me this isn't high school anymore so the next 4 weeks is study, study, study! I'll be writing here and there but don't expect an update for a while, ill try my absolute best to get one out within the new couple of weeks. Don't forget to review!**


	4. Vincent Crenshaw

**So I'm super crazy busy right now but writing this seems much more fun that writing a boring essay about interpersonal skills, so here I am taking time out of precious study time writing you guys a new chapter…yay!**

Troy's eyes made their way slowly down Gabriella's sleeping body. He dared not move in fear of waking her and preventing himself from spending 10 minutes of his new life dreaming that he was still living in his old one.

He closed his eyes slowly, trying desperately to remember exactly what Gabriella looked like underneath the baggy wildcats hoodie and sweatpants. He needed so badly to watch the moonlight reflect off her naked skin like he used to before everything went wrong.

He tried delicately to removed Sofia from Gabriella's mother like grasp, but her fingers tightened around the tiny girls back stopping him from taking the precious baby from her protective hold.

He watched intently as Gabriella's tiny body shifted slightly, moving Sofia just a couple of inches so her silky baby cheek was pressing against the fullness of her breasts, unconsciously making sure that the baby felt comfortable and protected in her arms.

He laid down slowly on the other side of Gabriella's large double bed, not letting his eyes leave either of the girls for more than a second. The protectiveness that he had felt towards Gabriella for so many years grew massively in a matter of seconds as he watched her lovingly protect the child he knew broke her heart.

Sleep began to rest against Troy's eyelids; he fought hard with every second to keep his eyes open, knowing that should he fall asleep, the beautiful scene that was playing out before him would disappear into the unknown.

Before long he simply couldn't fight any longer.

---

A soft whimper filled the air around Gabriella's ears, causing her to open her eyes slowly. At first confusion filled her head as she felt a tiny weight resting against her chest, but it didn't take long for her to remember the events of previous hours.

She sat up gently, making sure that Sofia was still securely wrapped in her arms. She glanced to her left for a second; quickly realizing that Troy was fast asleep under the covers of her warm bed.

She got up off the bed, moving a tiny bit at a time as not to wake Troy. If she was honest, she didn't really want the night to end. She had always wondered what it would have been like if she and Troy had had kids, she was finally getting the chance to live that dream, having it taken away would have been too much for her to handle.

She walked quietly through the bedroom door towards the living room, rocking a whimpering Sofia smoothly in her arms and whispering reassuring whispers against her soft skin as she walked.

"Are you hungry princess? Is that what it is?" Gabriella asked softly, brushing her thumb over the girls deep brown eyes, steaming the flow of the gentle tears running down the baby's cheeks.

She shook the warm water off the bottle that she had previously retrieved from Sofia's diaper bag. She brushed the baby girl's tiny lips gently with the teat, waiting for her to accept the warm bottle into her mouth.

"That's better, isn't beautiful?" Gabriella whispered as she watched the baby suckle hungrily from the bottle that sat balanced between her fingers. She couldn't understand how or why she had developed such a strong bond with the baby girl resting in her arms, she was effectively no one to her.

"Your gonna need a mommy real soon. I hope that your daddy finds someone who loves you as much as I do" Gabriella spoke gently, allowing the tears that were slowly welling up in her eyes to run delicately down her cheeks and hitting the soft fabric of Sofia's pink spotty body suit.

She wished desperately that things had been different, that right now she could be snuggled up in bed with Troy knowing that the baby girl in her arms was their, not his…not her, theirs. But the push of reality broke her dream; she knew that no matter how hard she tried she would never be able to get the sweet memories of the past.

Sofia began to whimper quietly again as she pushed the bottle from her mouth. Gabriella looked down at her and smiled, she lifted up the baby so her tiny head was rested against her shoulder, and began to sing softly.

"Duérmete mi niña, duérmete mi amor. Duérmete pedazo de mi corazón, que tengo que hacer, lavar tus pañales sentarme a coser. Ese niña quiere que lo duerma yo, dormir en mis brazos y en mi corazón." Gabriella softly sung the Mexican lullaby that she knew so well from her childhood softly the now sleeping baby girl.

The pain and heartbreak she had been desperately trying to push to the back of her mind as she cared for the tiny girl were finally released as the tears began to flow faster down her cheeks. All the nights that she cried herself to sleep; all the times that she screamed at people for suggesting that Troy was dead; all of the days she spent in hospital refusing to eat or sleep until someone found Troy, everything was coming back to her.

She laid Sofia down gently on the couch, before leaning forward and resting her tear stained face in her hands. Sobs took over her body and her shoulders began to shake as every sickening memory of the last 5 years seeped through her body like a disease.

She so desperately wanted to be in Sofia's life, but could she handle being back in Troy's?

---

Troy woke up as a chilly breeze touched his uncovered skin. He opened his eyes slowly and looked to his right expecting to see the image that previously filled his eyes still there unchanged…but it wasn't.

He sat up as quickly as he could, throwing the covers off himself and running from the bedroom through the small hallway and into the living area.

He knew that Gabriella would never hurt Sofia but the fear of not knowing where she was made him think irrationally.

His running suddenly stopped.

The scene that met his eyes was more beautiful that anything he expected to see in his life.

There in front of him was the woman he'd destroyed, singing a Mexican lullaby he remembered her mother singing after the death of her father, a song, which he knew meant so much to her. She was rocking the baby that they both know should have been theirs.

Guilt began to creep up on him, quickly consuming his whole body and mind. He was watching his perfect life exist in front of his eyes, yet all he could think of was how much he wished that everything could be different.

He slid down the doorframe and let rare tears run down his cheeks as he watched Gabriella's tiny body become taken over by sobs. The sound of her cries hitting him like a thousand shards of broken glass breaking every inch of his skin.

Guilt was replaced with hatred for himself as he noticed Gabriella's legs giving out beneath her as she slid from the couch to the floor. He couldn't stand knowing that he had completely destroyed the life of such a beautiful girl.

He closed his eyes tightly, he just couldn't bare to watch her completely breakdown. He got up and moved back into Gabriella's bedroom and laid himself down on the bed, he longed to hold her in his arms while she cried but he knew his touch would only make her fall harder into her breakdown.

---

Gabriella slowly opened her stinging eyes.

She looked around and found herself laid on the couch, her duvet covering her and a note resting the coffee table in the middle of the room.

_I'm so sorry for everything that I did to you. I sorry that you had to be involved with Sofia, I know it broke your heart to know that I haven't been completely faithful to you after I disappeared like you were to me. I'm so sorry precious, I really am. I hope someday you'll find it in your heart to forgive me enough so that maybe we can be friends. _

_I'll always love you,_

_Troy x_

She took a deep breath, she wanted Troy back in her life so desperately but she still remained terrified that he would once again disappear from her life.

---

Gabriella exhaustedly pushed open the door leading to the office that she was seemingly spending more and more time in these days. She dumped down an arm full of medical supplies on her desk and slowly sat down in her chair.

The events of the previous nights made her more tired that she'd felt in years. The weight that had been sitting on her shoulders since Troy disappeared was beginning to get heavier with each time she seemingly push Troy further away.

She turned her head towards the door as she heard a hard knocking against the thin white painted wood.

"Can I help you?" she asked the tall, dark haired guy that was stood in the doorway smiling sweetly.

"Dr Vincent Crenshaw. Just graduated Harvard Medical, I saw you walk in and I noticed how beautiful you are. I was wondering if you wanted to come for a drink with me tonight?" The sweet smile turned into a snide grin as he took hold of Gabriella's hands and kissed them.

"I'm sorry, I have a boyfriend, a baby and a whole lot of patients to see so if you wouldn't mind, please leave." Gabriella pulled her hands away from the grasp of the man towering in front of her.

"A boyfriend and a baby? Of course you do." The man laughed as he looked down at Gabriella's soft features. He replaced his firm grasp to Gabriella's wrists and pulled her closer to him.

"That's right. If you don't leave now I'll be calling security" Gabriella ripped her hands away from the strong mans grasp once again, only causing him to laugh harder at her.

"Boyfriend and a baby…I don't see any pictures around this place. I know there's no boyfriend or a baby. I'll pick you up at 7" Vincent's words were sneered as he gave Gabriella one last forceful look. She had to find a way out.

---

Gabriella walked quickly into her apartment and locked the door behind her. It was just 5 minutes before 7 and she knew that Vincent would be here any second.

He had only been in her life for a day but she already knew that he wasn't welcome. The sleazy look that he had given her as he left her office this morning was enough to prove to her that he only wanted her for one thing.

She looked down at the coffee table to the place where Troy had left the short note that morning. She tilted her head to the side slightly when she noticed a photograph.

That had definitely not been there this morning.

She looked closely at the picture. Troy was smiling happily with Sofia resting gently in his arms. She recognized the room in the picture to be the Bolton's living room and she knew that Lucille had probably taken it to add to her collection on special Troy pictures.

She smiled a little; she finally had a picture that she could show to Vincent that might just make him leave her alone.

As soon as the thought passed through her mind there was a loud bang at the door. She frowned harshly; no one could get into the building without asking for entry on the intercom system.

She looked out of the peephole that was inserted into her door. She spotted a man wearing a suit and an overly confident grin on his face, she sighed angrily.

She walked away from the door, sitting herself down on the couch and pretending that there was no one outside the door.

"I know your in there Gabriella, come on baby open the door. I won't go away until you do." Gabriella groaned, laying her self down on the couch and pushed a pillow against her head.

The banging just continued.

"Would you just fuck off, I don't want to go on a date with you." She shouted through the apartment, pushing the pillow further against her ear.

"Come on baby, just one date." Gabriella groaned loudly, knowing the only way to get this guy off her back was to spend 3 painful hours with him on a date.

She walked towards the door, opening it harshly and coming face to face with the object of her annoyance.

"One date, but after that you leave me the hell alone, understood?" she slammed the door behind her and threw her keys in her bag, knowing that this was going to be the longest 3 hours of her life that she'd never get back.

---

They arrived at the expensive Le Café Miche, French restaurant and were shown to seats in the corner of the restaurant that had been subtly lit with candlelight.

"Well this is nice" Vincent remarked, still with the same snide look on his face that she had seen the first time he introduced himself to her. Gabriella nodded, knowing more than anyone else how much she detested fancy French food.

"May I take your drinks order please?" A young waitress approached the table, she couldn't have been much more than 16 and most definitely wasn't French.

"Ah yes, I will have a class of your finest white and the lady will have an orange juice. We are also ready to make food orders, thank you" Gabriella frowned, she hadn't even looked at the menu yet, how could they possibly be ready to order.

"Ok, What can I get for you?" The girl smiled at Gabriella, sensing her awkwardness and making the order as quick as possible.

"We will both have escargots to start please, followed by the pan fried calves livers. Thank you very much" Vincent handed the waitress the menus and returned his gave to Gabriella, who was trying desperately to hide the disgust for the food, which she knew, would be coming soon.

Snails and calves livers? She'd need more than orange juice to get through the evening, that for sure.

"So Gabriella, tell me about yourself." Vincent moved his arms across the table and took her hands in his.

"I'm 25, qualified as a nurse from UNM. I have a boyfriend and a baby and I'm only here to get you off my back." She smiled innocently as she pulled her hands from Vincent's firmly.

"There she goes with the boyfriend and baby thing again. What's with that Gabriella, I know it's not true, you don't even carry their pictures." Gabriella smiled again, praising herself for stuffing the picture in her bag and picking it up before she left.

She pulled the stiff piece of paper from her purse and handed it to Vincent, enjoying every second of his reaction.

"She's uh…she beautiful. But I still don't believe that she's yours. You too sexy to be a mommy." He moved his chair closer to Gabriella's and placed his arm tightly around her waist.

"Look Vincent, can you please move back to your side of the table. I just want to get this meal over with as quickly as possible so I can get home before Sofia goes to bed." He chuckled snidely and moved his chair back to his side of the table, each of Gabriella's smart remarks increasing his anger level.

As soon as the food arrived and Vincent began to eat, things started to move much quicker. Gabriella struggled to keep down the terrible food that he had ordered and remarked after an acceptable amount of tries that she was full and couldn't eat another thing.

"I'll pay and I'll drive you home. Cant have such a beautiful girl walking the streets alone." He linked his arms with hers firmly and pulled her towards the door and out to his car.

---

Gabriella collapsed on the couch, she thought she'd had bad dates in the past but nothing compared to that.

She had just started to relax when there was another knock at the door, what was it with people getting into her apartment building without buzzing?

"What now?" She moaned in annoyance and she flung open the door to reveal a tired looking Troy and a screaming Sofia.

Without even a second glance to Troy, she took the screaming girl from his arms and rocked her gently.

"Hey now, what's the matter beautiful?" she asked softly as she held Sofia out in front of her slightly.

"I fed her, bather her, changed her. I've tried everything. She just wont stop" she looked at Troy with a sad smile, he was trying so hard to be an amazing daddy and he was doing a great job but she knew there was one thing Sofia needed that Troy couldn't give her.

"She needs some mommy love Troy. Daddy cuddles are great but babies naturally feel calmed when they're close to their mommy, muscley chests just don't cut it. I'll see what I can do" She sat down on the couch again, tucking Sofia neatly into her arms and resting her baby cheek against her chest.

Sofia's screams soon turned into gentle whimpers as her eyelids became heavy and she feel into a deep sleep. She smiled down at the baby, brushing her thumb gently over her baby smooth cheeks.

"She's asleep," she whispered to Troy as she turned her head to face him, he smiles proudly.

"Thank you so much, you an angel." He sat down next to her on the couch, placing a gentle kiss against Sofia's silky forehead.

"It was nothing, really." He looked up at Gabriella as she spoke, looking deep into her eyes for the first time since he'd come home.

As seconds passed he became more and more taken into the moment, forgetting everything that had happened and simply noticing what was happening that very moment.

He lent forward slowly towards Gabriella, placing a gently kiss against her lips, letting them linger for just a few moment.

Suddenly reality came back to haunt him, swiftly he pulled away and looked at Gabriella's stunned face.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered almost inaudibly.

He took Sofia swiftly from her arms and disappeared out into the night, leaving her completely stunned.

Had that really just happened?

**Don't forget to leave nice long reviews my favorite :D and you even have a fancy new review button so no excuses :P Hope you enjoyed it! If anyone is interested the song that Gabriella sings to Sofia is CHAYITO VALDEZ - DUERMETE MI NIÑO you can find it on youtube just in case you want to listen. **


	5. Saving your grace

**Well I'll wish everyone happy Christmas now, because the its likely I wont get time to update until after Christmas is over with so…happy Christmas everyone. I hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget to leave nice long reviews.**

Gabriella sat at her desk tapping her short, unvarnished nails against the wood.

The sleep was beginning to collect in the corners of her eyes; she knew that getting through the day without accidentally killing someone would be a massive achievement.

It was still 20 minutes before her first patient would be in to see her but the minutes were not passing quick enough. She wished that the next 8 hours could pass like minutes so that she could go home and rest.

She closed her eyes, letting the heaviness of sleep begin to take over her body.

Only to be awoken by a knock at the door.

"Sleeping on the job, beautiful? I knew last night was a good night but I didn't think it was that good." Vincent's arrogant words traveled into her ears.

She looked up from her desk; a disgusted look settled itself over her normally gentle features.

"What do you want Vincent? I've got a busy day ahead and the last thing I need is you bothering me." He chuckled and took a few steps closer to her desk, before sitting himself down slowly on the edge.

"Come on beautiful, you know you want me just as much as I want you. Right here, right now." Gabriella quickly caught on to what he was suggesting, she couldn't believe how anyone could possibly find this man attractive or even tolerable.

"I'm not a slut Vincent, sex is about love and being with someone you love. Unfortunately, I don't love you," she was quite proud of the come back she had thought up. She inwardly smiled to herself knowing that it must have knocked his ego slightly.

How could she be so wrong?

"Sex is about love? What is this Cinderella? Se x has nothing to do with love, its about proving how much of a man I am and just how weak you are under my control." The full extent of Vincent's arrogance and stupidity has suddenly become crystal clear; he was willing to do anything to get what he wanted.

"I think you should leave Doctor Crenshaw, before I call security." She took a step back towards the wall, desperate to put some distance between herself and the evil man standing before her.

_How could he have possibly got through medical school with a personality like this? Didn't they have decent screening processes these days?_ All sorts of thoughts were running through her mind of possible reasons why he had turned out to be the way he was and possible ways her current situation could have been prevented.

"Security? Don't make me laugh Gabriella, do you really think the would come to your rescue? I had a nice chat with them this morning, told them all about our date last night. I told them about being invited back to your place and how loudly you screamed my name." Gabriella became furious; he had formed a plan that left no stone unturned.

"How could you lie about something like that? Do you honestly think I would sleep with you? You make me sick." Gabriella spat her words towards the towering man in front of her desk.

She watched as his features turned from angry to cruel and cold.

"You make me hot and I'm going to have you right here no matter what you say to try and stop me." Fear bubbled over inside of Gabriella as Vincent took numerous steps forwards and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her close to him.

"Let go of my Vincent, please." She tried desperately to pull herself away from his strong grip but it was no use, his fingers only tightened around her wrists.

Hips rough lips moved to the delicate skin on her neck, scratching it like sandpaper rubbing across her skin as he began to wrack his teeth along her jaw line.

His hands removed themselves from her wrists and moved to her hips, rising underneath her thin scrub top before firmly placing themselves against her back.

She knew she had no escape now, no matter what he was planning for her; she knew all she could do was to let it happen.

---

Troy walked up the stone pathway that lead to University of New Mexico Hospital's Women's Health and Family Care outpatient clinic for Sofia's next vaccination appointment.

If he was honest with himself, he was more than nervous about seeing Gabriella after what happen between Troy and herself the previous evening, but he knew that he couldn't let that get in the way of Sofia's health.

He walked through the door and approached the reception desk where he was Gabriella's friend Julianne sat behind the desk.

"I'm here to see Gabriella. My daughter has her next set of vaccinations today, I know I'm a little early but is it ok to go in?" Troy asked nervously, unsure if Gabriella had shared the previous nights happenings with any of her close work friends.

"Of course Mr. Bolton. I'll tick you name off on the system, she's in there so go on in." Julianne smiled at the handsome man stood in front of the desk, if Gabriella wasn't so hung up on him she would have taken him all for herself but she just couldn't do that to such a close friend.

He knocked on Gabriella's office door softly, assuming that he would not need to knock hard for her to hear. When he didn't hear a reply telling him not to enter he assumed it was fine for him to come in.

He had no idea of the scene occurring behind the office door.

He pushed it open slowly, peaking around the door to get a better view of what was happening within the office, what he saw shocked him beyond belief.

Quickly he moved ran into the waiting area, praying that Julianne was still sat behind the reception desk.

Relief washed over him as his eyes spotted her about to get up from the seat in front of the computer.

"Julianne? Can you please look after Sofia for a while? It's Gabriella, she's in trouble and I don't want Sofia to have to see what's happening." Without waiting for a reply he thrust the carry seat into Julianne's hands and ran back towards the office, leaving a flustered and worried Julianne with a million questions unanswered.

He swung the door open hard, making sure that it slammed hard against the line of store cupboards so that Vincent's attention would be drawn away from Gabriella and onto him.

"Do you mind were busy in here." Vincent spat as he spotted Troy standing angrily in the doorway.

Troy looked down at Gabriella, searching her for any signs that she was enjoying the situation and any possible feeling that she wished he hadn't interrupted.

But all he could see was fear in her eyes.

"I think she wants you to leave. I don't know who you are and to be honest I really don't care but if you don't leave in 10 seconds I will make sure you cant lay a finger on another girl ever again." Relief washed over Gabriella as she heard Troy make a harsh threat towards Vincent. She was so thankful that someone had found her in time.

"She was enjoying herself, I was enjoying myself. Leave and wait for your appointment time. We wont be long," Vincent tried one more time to get Troy to leave but his attempt failed. Troy didn't move a muscle.

Rage was beginning to build up inside of him. How dare someone try and break his beautiful Gabriella? He knew he was the only one that had seen that much of her; and as he watched the fear in her eyes increase, it became clear that that was how she wanted it to stay.

He moved quickly forward, grabbing the material on the back of Vincent's posh work shirt, lifting him off Gabriella and pushing him hard into the wall.

"I told you to get out and leave her alone. What part of that do you not understand? She doesn't want you. You're a fucking sad excuse for a man." Troy's fingers tightened around the collar of Vincent's shirt, purposely making it difficult but not impossible for him to breath comfortably.

"She's not worth it anyway, look at her. Why would anyone want to be with her? Ungrateful little bitch." Troy's anger reached breaking point, he drew his fist backwards, let his anger come to a head for just a second, and propelled his fist into Vincent's face, not caring that his head smack into the wall behind him.

Seconds later security came dashing into the room; they immediately went for Troy and tackled him down to the ground. After hearing Vincent's lies just hours earlier they assume that it had been Troy causing the problems.

"No stop! He saved me, it's Doctor Crenshaw who you should be taking away, not Troy, please not Troy." Tears were running quickly down Gabriella's cheeks, she wasn't sure if they were tears of sadness, fear, relief or happiness but nevertheless they were tears and each one broke Troy's heart.

Security released Troy and made their way over to Vincent, who was lying groaning on the floor. It was evident no serious damage had been done and the 2 large security officers picked him up off the floor and escorted him out of the room.

For a minute everything remained silent.

Both Troy and Gabriella taking a few seconds to let the situation sink in, neither dared to move.

But before long Gabriella's choked sobs filled the room, alerting Troy to the fact that she needed him more than he needed to think.

He strode quickly across the small office and took her swiftly into his protective arms, holding her as close to his body as he could.

"Ella? Are you ok? Did he hurt you anywhere? Let me look at you. God I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." He pulled Gabriella away from his body and held her at arms length, checking almost every inch of her body for bruises, scratches and scraped.

She remained silent, still shocked that she had almost been raped and that Troy had appeared from nowhere to save her. She tried to force words out but every time she opened nothing came out.

"You don't have to say anything. Thank god I got here in time. I would have never forgiven myself if anything happened to you." Troy pulled Gabriella back into his body, worried that should he let her go she wouldn't return to his arms for comfort.

"Thank you," Gabriella managed to whisper, almost inaudibly. She wrapped her arms tightly around Troy and nuzzled her face deeply into his warm chest.

"Your ok, oh thank god your ok." Troy's arms wrapped tighter around Gabriella as he placed a desperate kiss against her forehead.

All of the previous nights events seems to have been forgotten and all that seemed to matter was Gabriella wrapped in Troy's protective arms as he rocked her back and forth of the floor of her office.

"Miss Montez? I think given this mornings events it would be a good idea if you went home and got some rest." The pair looked up towards the door where they both spotted the director of nursing, Nancy Tolono, looking down sympathetically at them.

"I'll take her home, she can hardly speak. Come on precious, lets get you home." Troy stood up, pulling Gabriella up with him but still keeping a firm hold on her tiny shaking body.

"There will be an officer come to speak to her sometime this afternoon. Doctor Crenshaw was removed by police not long ago." Nancy handed Troy Gabriella's jacket and bag that she had left in the staff room. Troy smiled thankfully before placing it around Gabriella's shoulders.

"Where's Sofia?" Gabriella's soft voice caused Troy to look down at the shock woman in his arms.

"She's out with Julianne, she's perfectly safe. Do you want to see her?" Troy asked almost knowing that Gabriella wanted to see the tiny baby that seemed to bring her so much comfort.

Gabriella simply nodded.

As Troy helped Gabriella into the waiting area, everyone seemed to look around wondering what had happened to frighten the woman so badly.

A frightened Julianne rushed towards the pain, the small carry seat still firmly held in her hands.

As Gabriella noticed her approaching with Sofia she stood up and moved quickly towards Julianne and baby Sofia.

Once they had both stopped walking, Gabriella reached down and took Sofia from her seat and holding her close to her chest.

Soft tears began forming in her eyes again, the reason remaining unknown.

"Come on, we'll go back to my place, snuggle up on the couch and watch some movies, all three of us ok?" Gabriella nodded slowly, refusing to place Sofia back into her carry seat and protecting her like she had been in grave danger.

"Take me home," Troy looked down as he heard Gabriella's whispered words. He wrapped his arms around her shoulder and guided her out of the building.

She would be ok; she knew it. As long as she was with Troy.

---

Lucille Bolton was humming happily as she moved around the kitchen preparing lunch for herself and Troy, who should she expected back from the clinic any minute.

She neatly rolled a few slices of ham and placed them on Troy's plate next to a crispy baked potato and some salad.

She smiled as she heard the front door close quietly; she had timed lunch preparations perfectly. She walked out from the kitchen into the hallway and frowned at the sight before her.

"Troy? Gabriella? What's happened?" Gabriella looked up at Lucille but failed to be able to hide her situation from the older woman.

"There was a situation at work, I'm gonna take Gabriella and Sofia upstairs and were gonna spend some time together. I think she just needs some time to settle." Lucille nodded as she watched Troy lead Gabriella up the stairs carefully.

She didn't know what had happened but she knew it couldn't have been good.

---

In Troy room, Gabriella sat herself comfortably on the couch facing the large wall mounted TV.

"Can I get you anything?" Troy asked Gabriella as he sat down next to her slowly and placed his arms around her shoulder.

"Can you just hold me for a while? You make me feel so safe and I really need that right now." Troy wasted no time in taking Sofia from her arms, placing her down in her crib, walking back over to the couch and pulling Gabriella into his lap.

"I'll hold you for as long as you like. Don't you worry about a thing, I got you." Gabriella smiled as she snuggled into Troy's arms. She hadn't felt this content since she before he had left; the feeling being enclosed in his arms was comparable to nothing.

"I don't know how I can pay you back for today. If you hadn't come early…" Gabriella couldn't finish her sentence, the pain and fear of what could have been pushing it's way to the front of her mind once again.

"You don't have to say it because it didn't happen, and it's never going to happen. You don't need to pay me back, just being able to hold you unharmed is enough for me." Gabriella smiled; her previous feelings for Troy were beginning to creep back out from their hiding place.

She wanted to be with him, there was no doubting that, but was she ready? There was only one way to find out.

She leaned forwards slowly, unsure of how Troy would react, but she knew she couldn't let her fears stop her from making a move to brighten her day.

Troy noticed Gabriella's movements and matched them with his own, their eyes closed swiftly as their faces hovered just millimeters apart.

Their lips connected in a soft, sensual kiss.

A kiss that neither was about to run away from, a kiss that neither would regret.

It continued for more minutes than either could count, their lips massaging each other's with their soft movements.

Gabriella's arms moved to the back of Troy's neck and rubbed his sensitive skin gently. He moaned slightly at the new sensation and gently slid his hands from her thighs up to the delicate skin on her stomach, drawing invisible patterns around her belly button.

She lent back and pulled him down with her, so they were lying down comfortably on the large couch, not once disconnecting their lips.

There was no doubt that things really were going to be ok after all.

**Wow that actually didn't take long to write, I got so into it I just couldn't stop. I hope you enjoyed the ending. Don't forget, nice long reviews would make my Christmas. Thank you so much for reading. **


	6. Closer together

**I hope everyone had a good Christmas and got lots of presents. I'm hoping to get this chapter out with in the next few days but if it's been longer than that I apologize in advance. Don't forget those nice long reviews are always greatly appreciated but short reviews are fine to =) Enjoy. **

Gabriella opened her eyes as streams of sunlight shone down on her skin. At first she wasn't sure where she was but it all became clear when she felt an arm tighten around her waist.

She turned over onto her right side, moving slowly and gently so that the sleeping man beside her didn't wake.

She smiled to herself as she felt Troy pull her head down to rest on his chest, it felt like everything was back the way it used to be.

She almost wondered if the past 7 years had been a dream that she had just woken up from; that when Troy opened his eyes it would all become clear that he'd never left at all, but she knew it wasn't true.

There was no feeling of regret within her; only contentment, love and happiness filled her body. After he'd saved her from Vincent Crenshaw the previous day she knew that she could settle the fears she had about allowing Troy to reclaim her heart.

The previous night had been filled with cuddles, kisses and family time; sex had not been a necessity nor had it even crossed their minds. An advancement as big as that would have been detrimental to the reconstruction of their relationship.

"Stop thinking about things and go back to sleep Ella." The sound of Troy's sleepy voice caused Gabriella to look up at his face, his eyes were still closed and a tiny smile graced his lips.

"I don't want to stop thinking. This is all so much to take in, if I stop thinking I'll get lost in it all and it will never work out." Gabriella's words were almost fearful, she knew that they were in a delicate situation but it was one that she never wanted to end.

"Sofia isn't awake yet and you don't have to be in work for another 2 hours, just sleep some more. We'll talk about everything later." He lent down and placed a delicate kiss against her head, inhaling deeply to take in the scent of her coconut shampoo.

She had to agree that it was amazing that Sofia wasn't awake yet, it was after all coming close to 7am.

Maybe she could sleep for just a few more minutes.

"Fine but when Sofia wakes up, we get up. I'm starving and you have an appointment with the pancake mix." She replied cheekily, causing the smile on Troy's face to grow even larger.

"You're quite something Montez, but you know I wouldn't have you any other way." This time it was Gabriella who smiled; she had missed being treated like the most precious thing in the world.

---

The two luxurious hours before Gabriella had to go to work passed quickly, with the couple only getting 20 minutes more sleep before Sofia began to wake up.

They walked hand in hand towards the Women Health and Family Clinic that Gabriella had worked at since she graduated from University of New Mexico.

She knew today would be a busy day, making up for all of the previous days lost appointments would be hard work but it made it all worth while knowing that she would be able to go home to Troy at the end of it all.

"If you hang around for a minute I can do the vaccinations that Sofia missed yesterday." Gabriella unlocked the door to her office and stepped in, thankfully the mess created the previous day had been cleared up by the housekeeping staff, leaving it as good as new.

"That's a good idea. By the way, do you have those DNA results back yet? I know they will be faxed to the government but I just need to know for sure, I love her so much and if they're gonna take her from me I need to know in advance." Gabriella had forgotten all about the test, it suddenly dawned on her that she may have to give up the baby she had become to close to.

"I'll have a look, they must have come on by now." She sifted through the piles of papers that had been placed in the in-tray on her desk; she finally found an envelope from the labs with Troy's information on the front.

"Do you want to read them or shall I?" she clutched the white envelope tightly in her hands, knowing that what was inside it could change everything.

"You do it, I don't think I could bring myself to read what it said." Gabriella nodded, sliding her fingers underneath the seal and opening it.

She pulled the sheet of paper from inside and unfolded it carefully.

"These results confirm that Mr. Troy Bolton is the biological father of Miss Sofia Sanchez." Gabriella read out the only line that she knew meant something to Troy.

Both Troy and Gabriella felt relief within them knowing that Sofia would now be with them forever, there was no way that the government could make Troy take her back to Mexico.

He placed Sofia's carry chair down on the couch and took quick paces towards Gabriella, picking her up in his arms and spinning her around in excited circles.

"This is the best news I've had in ages. Thank you so much." Gabriella smiled up at Troy as he placed her feet firmly back down on the floor.

"Your more than welcome, I better get those vaccinations done before my first appointment comes in." Gabriella said as she pulled on some gloves and retrieved the necessary vaccinations from the refrigerator.

"Alright princess, I'll be as quick as I can," Gabriella quickly administered all of the vaccinations and signed the required forms before picking up a distressed Sofia and cuddling her.

"We better go, it's 9 and I know your first patients will be in at 9. Pick you up after work?" Troy asked curiously, he wasn't sure whether he and Gabriella were definitely back together but that didn't matter to him; he still wanted to be around her as much as he could.

"You don't need to do that but since your offering. I'll see you at 6." She leaned up and placed her lips gently on Troy's, she didn't have to wait more than a split second for him to respond.

"I'll be counting the minutes." Gabriella giggled at Troy's comment as he walked towards the door, turning to blow her a kiss and disappearing out of the office.

---

Troy arrived back at his parent's house with a huge smile on his face. He opened the door and walked towards the kitchen where he knew his mom would be preparing the daily brunch that they would eat together.

"What's got you feeling so cheerful today? Did Gabriella stay last night? Is everything ok?" Lucille bombarded Troy with questions regarding the last 24 hours of his life.

"Yes, she stayed. I think she's ok, she had a bit of a bad experience at work yesterday but it was nothing that I didn't handle, and I happen to be so happy because I think me and Ella are heading to getting back together." Troy was unsure as to whether he should have mentioned he and Gabriella, he knew his mother would be excited and the thought of having to tell her it was just wishful thinking would have been heartbreaking.

"That's fantastic Troy. Will she be here for dinner tonight?" Lucille placed a plate of sausage, hash brown, egg and French toast in front of Troy before placing a small plate in front of herself.

"No, I'm picking her up from work and were going back to hers. I thought I'd pick us up some dinner so that she doesn't have to worry after I long day at work." Lucille looked at her son as he spoke, wherever he had been for all of those years it had certainly made him more mature than he was when he left.

"Well how about I have little Sofia for the night so that you and Gabriella can have a talk about things without having to worry?" Troy was unsure about leaving Sofia with his mom, he hadn't allowed her out of his sight since she was thrust into his arms back in Mexico.

"Are you sure? I mean Gabriella loves having her there but it would be nice to spend some alone time together, there's loads of stuff we need to talk about." Troy was thinking in his mind the way the night could plan out, what needed to be talked about and what needed to be resolved.

"Of course I don't mind, leave it with me. A quick tip, Gabriella loves the spaghetti and meatballs from the new Italian restaurant not far from the hospital, you could get some dinner from there." Troy nodded, beginning to count not only the minutes but the seconds before he could see Gabriella again.

---

Finally it was six o'clock and Troy had settled himself in the clinic waiting room for Gabriella to emerge from her office.

He had picked up Gabriella's favorite food and had brought her a large bunch of lilies, both of which he had left safely in the trunk of his car to surprise her with when they arrived at her apartment.

Her office door finally opened and the exhausted form of Gabriella walked out from the room. She had dark circles under her barely open eyes and her steps were taken slowly.

Troy stood up and walked towards her, opening his arms and allowing her to flop into his safe grip.

"Busy day?" He asked, wrapping his arms tighter around her tiny body to prevent her slipping down onto the floor in an exhausted mess.

"Busier than ever, all of yesterdays appointments and today's. I'm glad I have the day off tomorrow." Gabriella allowed herself to snuggle closer into Troy's grip. Somehow being in his arms provided her with just enough strength to move.

"Well, we're going back to your apartment, have some dinner, some relaxing time together and you're not going to do anything." Gabriella smiled; somehow he knew just what she needed.

"What about Sofia? You can't do all of that stuff, feed her, bath her and put her to bed." The idea of spending time completely alone was washed away when she remembered that baby Sofia demanded the majority of Troy's attention.

"Mom has got her for the night, it's just me and you." He opened the passenger door of his car, allowing Gabriella to flop down into the seat comfortably.

She frowned as she got in, sniffing their air a few times before turning to Troy as he seated himself in the drivers seat.

"Is that spaghetti and meatballs from Olive Garden?" Gabriella asked slowly, she would know that smell from a mile away.

"It definitely is, I knew you'd had a busy day so I stopped and picked us up some dinner. Did I do good?" Troy asked, a hint of cheekiness shone through his tone.

"You did more than good." Gabriella replied as she leaned across and placed a loving kiss against Troy's cheek.

---

Troy and Gabriella sat comfortably cuddled together on the large fabric couch in Gabriella's living room.

It seemed like the perfect time for the 'talk' to take place.

"I'm really sorry for leaving all those years ago Ella, I shouldn't have left like that." Gabriella lifted her head to look up into Troy's deep blue eyes.

"Why did you?" She asked simply, not really know what else to say.

"Dad started putting all this pressure on me, he told me that if I wanted to stay living at home I had to get myself into college and kept going on and on about how I couldn't possibly be treating you right by not trying to get into college and get a great job. He would go on and on about it, I just had to get away. I thought leaving would make it easier but it never did." Gabriella nodded along to Troy's explanation for leaving, she could sort of understand the rational behind it but there were still things that she needed to know.

"Why didn't you just talk to me? I would have told you that I didn't care what you did. I loved you for you, not for what you were doing with your life." Gabriella sat up, positioning herself differently in Troy's arms so that she could look at him comfortably in the eyes.

"I was terrified that you would tell me that you thought the same and that you didn't want to be with me anymore. I couldn't bare to lose you, but I know that when I left I lost you anyway." Gabriella felt herself become upset and almost guilty as she heard Troy speak of his inner feelings and in turn reliving hers.

"I always thought you left because you didn't want to be around me and that you couldn't tell me how much you despised me so you ran. Then when you didn't contact your parents I was terrified that you'd died, the police said that they weren't going to search anymore because they sure that you were dead." Unwanted tears began to run down her cheeks as she remembered the pain, fear and hurt she felt when Troy had left.

"God, Ella. I'm so sorry; if I knew that it would affect you like that I would never have left. I would have talked it out with you and never let you go. I wrecked your life and I'm so sorry." Troy wrapped his arms tightly around Gabriella and pulled her down to his chest, rubbing her back comfortingly.

"You don't need to be sorry, I understand why you did it. I wish things had been different but what can you do about it now? It's no good living in the past and not doing something you know is right because of something that happened 5 years ago. You're here with me now and you have Sofia. Everything happens for a reason." Gabriella wrapped her arms tighter around Troy's body, for the first time since his return she was feeling no resentment, no pain but just a pure need for love and a happy future.

"I'll always feel like I wrecked things, Ella. I hurt you so badly and I'll never be able to forgive myself for that, even if you do." Gabriella placed her hand against Troy's cheek, stroking her thumb across the soft skin.

"There were so many times during those 5 years that I wished you were there. When mom died I was totally broken and I really needed yo to just hold me and you weren't there, but I will never hold that against you Troy. You've always meant so much to me, here or not here." Troy couldn't believe his ears as he heard Gabriella proclaim her forgiveness, he couldn't understand why she would allow him back in.

"I want to be with you, Gabriella. I want to fall asleep with you, wake up with you, I want to kiss you, and I just want you. I understand if you don't want that, I mean after I messed up so badly last time I would totally get it if you didn't trust me, but I just want you to know I would never let that happen again." Troy ran his thumbs against Gabriella's cheeks, wiping away the visible salty tears still making tracks across her skin.

"I want to be with you to. I trust you, Troy." She had finally admitted it, not only to herself but also to Troy.

Finally with feelings out in the open, their relationship could develop into its former beautiful state.

"Does that mean I can call you my girlfriend again?" Troy asked almost cautiously, he wanted to make sure that there was no room for misunderstanding and no chance of wrecking their newly formed relationship.

"Only if I can call you my boyfriend." The couple smiled at each other, seeing a sparkle in each other's eyes they knew had been nonexistent for the time they had been apart.

Gabriella let out a contented sigh, the feeling of happiness that she once had with Troy was quickly returning.

Troy let his hands fall to rub her shoulders gently, massaging her soft skin through her clothes.

"You're really tense, El. You should do something about that before it starts to give you shoulder pain." Troy spoke as he continues to massage, unaware of the ideas that were brewing within Gabriella's mind.

"Why don't you do it?" She asked, unsure if her tone was meant to sound as suggestive as it did but never the less expecting some kind of physical intimacy.

"It would be easier if you were lying down." Gabriella nodded, pulling herself up off the couch making her way towards her bedroom.

"There's some special message oil for muscle tension in the bathroom closet." Gabriella called to Troy as she pulled off her shirt and lay face down on the bed.

Troy walked into the bathroom and searched for the bottle Gabriella had instructed him to receive. When he finally spied it he smiled, it had been such a long time since he'd felt so excited about being so close to someone.

He walked back into the bedroom; take a slight breath in as he spotted a topless Gabriella lying face down on the bed.

"Is it ok if I sit on your back?" Troy asked, placing the oil into the palm of his hands and rubbing them together to make them warm.

"Of course, you do whatever you like, I'll just lay here and relax." Troy gently placed his legs each side of Gabriella's and sat down slowly, making sure he didn't put too much weight on her.

His hands started working the skin at the bottom of her back, his fingers gently squeezing as he moved towards her sides.

She moaned slightly as his fingers released the tension from her lower back, she never wanted this feeling to end.

"I hope I'm not hurting you." Troy spoke softly as he hands began to work the skin further up her back.

Gabriella shook her head, her eyes remaining closed to Troy's hands created enormous amounts of pleasure to shoot through her body.

"Your not, can you move a little higher?" she asked, holding in another loud moan as Troy's hands reached her most tense spot.

"Stay there, stay there. That's so good." She could keep in the moan that she had been holding back for the last 5 minutes. She bit her lip tightly as Troy hands pressed harder into her back and ran down the length of her spine, stopping just short of her buttocks.

His hands moved swiftly up her sides, brushing against the softness of her breasts. He hadn't realized how much he had missed touching her but as he caressed her soft skin he couldn't think of anywhere else he would rather be.

"Alright, we're all done." Troy lifted himself from Gabriella's body and sat himself down on the bed next to her.

"That feels so much better, you have no idea." Gabriella pulled the sheet up to cover her chest, stretched the now relaxed muscles in her back.

"I'm going to run you a nice warm bubble bath to get off all that oil and then we can watch a movie, sound good?" Troy stood up from the bed and made his way towards the bedroom, he knew if he had stayed in there to hear her answer he would not have been held responsible for his actions.

---

Gabriella lay comfortably under the bubbles in the bath that Troy had run for her. She had been thinking a lot about her relationship with Troy and had come to many decisions about how she wanted things to be.

She just wanted things to be the way they used to be, she didn't want Troy to be tiptoeing around her wondering if he was doing things that would make her feel uncomfortable.

She wanted the relationship they used to have; yet she knew there were something's that would be off limits until their old new relationship was further developed.

Seeing each other naked definitely wasn't one of these limits, he had seen her all before, why should spending 5 years apart make any difference.

In her mind they had never technically broken up.

"Troy, can you come in a second?" she called, smiling to herself knowing that Troy would have a coy smile forming on his face any second.

"Is everything ok, Ella?" Troy asked as he popped his head around the door, noticing almost disappointedly that the bubbles on top of the water hid all of Gabriella's exposed skin.

"I'm kind of lonely, I'd like to have someone to talk to in here. Wonna join me? The tub it's big enough." Gabriella's eyes sparkled as she smiled up at Troy.

"Are you sure? I mean I could just sit here and talk to you." Troy shifted awkwardly on his feet, he so desperately wanted to get into the tub but a tiny voice in his mind told he maybe she was just saying it to please him.

"I wasn't asking you, I was telling you. Get in." Gabriella's cheeky smile grew as she watched Troy undress down to his boxers and start making his way towards the large bathtub.

He paused for a minute, considering whether to step in with his boxers still firmly on or baring all to Gabriella.

Finally deciding, he laced his fingers under the waistband of his boxers and letting the fall to his feet.

He definitely didn't expect to be doing this when he woke up this morning.

Gabriella moved forwards, allowing Troy to slip in behind her, his arms and legs encasing her as she lent back.

"I've missed this." Gabriella referred softly to the physical closeness she now had with Troy after so long apart.

He started tracing invisible patterns on her stomach, moving his hands up slowly to her chest.

"I've missed this to, I've missed you." He placed a loving kiss on her temple as she snuggled deeper into his arms, allowing his hands to have free reign of her body.

Gabriella reached up slowly, bringing her face closer to Troy's and pausing for a moment before placing her lips softly against Troy's.

Troy smiled into the long peck, feeling empty as Gabriella brought it to a close and returned her head to watery surroundings of his chest.

He buried his face deep into her dry hair, absorbing the amazing smell of her shampoo and relaxing himself completely against her.

Neither seemed to care that the water was rapidly turning cold.

**So there you have it, the end of another chapter that I really enjoyed writing. Don't forget to leave me lots of lovely reviews; I'm sure karma will reward you accordingly should you do so. Hope you enjoyed it xxx**


	7. Passion

**I've been planning ahead for this story and I'm desperate to get to the bits that come in the future, I just can't wait to write them. Unfortunately there are many chapters in between so I think I better get on with writing those. Don't forget to review!!! Fair warning this chapter is DEFINITELY M RATED!**

Troy's eyes began to flutter open as he pulled Gabriella closer to him, willing away the new day.

He would have succeeded had it not been for a loud knocking noise coming from the front door.

"Who is that?" Gabriella groaned as she began to pull herself from the warmth of Troy's arms.

"I'll go baby, go back to sleep." Troy whispered against Gabriella's soft skin as he kissed her gently.

"It's my house, let me go. You never know who it might be." Troy brushed his nose against Gabriella's, disagreement laced through his blue eyes.

"All the more reason for me to go," he got up and walked through the hallway towards the door that led to the outside world.

The knocking continued.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." Troy quickened his walking steps towards the door and opening it in one swift motion.

The sight the greeted his eyes was most definitely not expected.

"Oh…my…god." Just three short words were spoken by the blonde woman stood at the door but from Troy's perspective it was three too many.

"Can I help you?" Troy asked, his voice remaining monotone. He hoped that she wouldn't recognize him and was just shocked to see someone but Gabriella answering the door.

"Can you help me? Can you help me Troy fucking Bolton. What the fuck are you doing in Gabriella's apartment? Aren't you meant to be dead?" Ah yes there it was, a perfect display of just how tactful Sharpay Evens was not.

"So nicely put Sharpay really thank you for making my morning so joyous. Will you please keep your voice down or you'll wake Ella." The tall blonde pushed her way past Troy into the still dark apartment.

"Does she know you're here? If you came in the night and broke in just to see her again you'll be sorry." She stepped forwards and held tightly onto his cotton shirt.

Their fierce stare was broken by a soft, sleepy voice.

"Troy, baby? Who was at the door?" The sound of Gabriella's feet padding down the carpeted hall startled the pair.

As soon as Gabriella came into clear view, Sharpay let loose.

"Explain yourself! What the fuck is Troy Bolton doing in your apartment and why are you calling him baby?" Sharpay spat her words to a still half asleep Gabriella.

"I don't have to explain myself to you Sharpay. Me and Troy are back together, it's as simple as that and if you can't accept it that's your problem." Gabriella walked towards the kitchen away from Sharpay standing open mouthed in the large living room area.

"He left you Gabriella, how could you take him back. You almost died before of him. I can't believe he swans back to town for five minutes and you've already taken him back." Gabriella sunk down to the floor of the kitchen, away from the praying eyes of Sharpay and the worried eyes of Troy.

"He hasn't been back for five minutes, he's been back for weeks and it took a lot for me to let him back in. I just wish for once in your life you could think about someone other than yourself and just be happy for me. Please just leave." Gabriella reemerged from the kitchen with a firm look on her face.

She walked towards the door, opened it and waited patiently for Sharpay to leave.

"After everything that happened Gabriella…I can't believe that you would be this naive." Sharpay shook her head as she walked through the door, not bothering to give Gabriella a last look before disappearing at the end of the corridor.

As Gabriella closed the door behind her once best friend she sunk to the floor slowly, trying desperately to fight back the tears that were beginning to collect in her eyes.

"She's right El, you could have died and it would have been all my fault. I should just go." Gabriella stood up quickly and grasped tightly onto Troy's body.

She had just got him back; there was no way he was leaving again.

"She couldn't be more wrong. It wasn't just you I was depressed about; everything was getting on top of me. Please don't go Troy, please. I need you." The tears finally spilled down onto the smooth skin of her cheeks.

Troy's guilty demeanor quickly turned into one of a protective and apologetic lover.

"Shh baby, I'm not going anywhere if you don't want me to. I promise you I'm not leaving you again, no matter what Sharpay says." Gabriella sighed with relief as she snuggled her face closer into Troy's warm body.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that, she had no right to come in here and talk the way she did." Troy pulled himself and Gabriella down so that they were sitting cuddled together on the couch.

Silence hung in the air as the couple submerged themselves in their own thoughts of the past, present and future.

"Did you ever used to wonder what the future would be like?" Troy's random question baffled Gabriella; she was sure they had discussed this before.

"Sure I did, I saw you and me married, a few babies, an amazing house, all of the usual stuff you would expect. Why do you ask?" Gabriella looked deeply into Troy's eyes; desperately looking for any recognizable emotions that could help her find the roots of his question.

"I always imagined us with a baby girl, a beautiful little girl. She had these beautiful dark curls and big brown eyes, perfect. God, I'm so confused." Troy's words forced him to frown; he couldn't understand the feelings that were brewing within him.

All he wanted to do was live the life he'd always dreamed of.

"You have that Troy, Sofia is so amazing. She's going to be so amazingly beautiful, you should be so proud of what you helped create." Troy sighed, he knew she was right but the frustrating feeling of guilt and regret was still playing on his mind.

"I see all of that, but she should have been yours." The words hit Gabriella like a ton of bricks. They were something that she was never ever expecting.

"I'll always love her like she's my own Troy. I lost my mom, I know how it feels to need someone like that in your life, I would really like to be that person to her." Troy allowed Gabriella's words sink in and finally realized that she was right.

He would never see Sofia's mother again so why not allow his dreams to become partial reality.

"She is yours, well, ours. I want you to be her mommy." Gabriella smiled at Troy's revelation, the amazing thoughts of being a new mommy filled her with elation.

Troy soon noticed the huge smile spread across Gabriella's beautiful face.

"We should get her from your parent's, they'll start to worry soon." Gabriella untangled herself from Troy's grasp and stretched her sleepy muscles.

"I'm sure they can manage for a few more hours while we enjoy the quiet time alone together. It's been so long since we've spent time like this together." Gabriella giggled as Troy pulled her down towards the couch and back down into his awaiting arms.

"I'm sure they could but I've missed her. We have to go now so I can get my baby cuddle." Troy smiled, he had never imagined he would be able to find someone good enough to be a mom to Sofia.

Gabriella was more than good enough.

"Alright Mommy, chill. Let me get dressed and we'll leave." Troy's joke put another large smile on Gabriella's face as she watched him leave for the bedroom.

She closed her eyes and let out a happy sigh.

Mommy. What a beautiful word.

---

"Mom, I'm home." Troy shouted as he entered his parent's house with Gabriella following close behind.

He knew that his parents would be shocked about his reconciled relationship with Gabriella but he hoped they would be able to see the positive plans for the future rather than the saddening memories of the past.

"We're in the living room sweetheart." Lucille's calm voice sounded into the hallway.

This was it; there was no going back now.

"Oh hello Gabriella honey, we didn't realize you had come in at the same time." It was Jack that spoke this time as he bounced the baby girl up and down on his knees in a desperate attempt to get her laugh.

"Actually we came here together, Troy stayed at mine last night." Gabriella spoke cautiously to the two people that she had called parents for the last few years, terrified that they would disagree with the relationship and leave her with nothing.

"Do you mean that you…? That you are…? Wow that was unexpected." Jack stopped bouncing Sofia up and down and looked up at the couple who had just unknowingly announced their togetherness.

"I'm so pleased everything worked out how you wanted it to Troy. It's a weight off my mind to know that that precious little baby will have some we already know and trust as her mother. Thank you for forgiving him Gabriella, thank you" Everyone in the room seemed touched at the amount of emotion that was laced within Lucille's kind words, it was obviously a subject she felt strongly about.

"It was nothing really, I just want us all to be happy." Gabriella thought back to the hours of depression she had lived through in the living room of the Bolton household.

She would never have imaged things would turn out this well.

"I'm so pleased, this is fantastic," Lucille gushed happily as she watched Gabriella walk towards Jack and take Sofia from his arms.

"I don't think we can stop for long, Gabriella has to get in some groceries and pick up some stuff to keep at hers for Sofia. I'll be staying there tonight so I'll see you guys in the morning." Troy spoke as he stood himself up off the comfortable couch and made his way towards the door followed closely by Gabriella.

"Well have a good evening kids, see you tomorrow." Jack called from the big yellow chair in the living room, laughter lacing his words.

"He'll never stop that will he? He'll always have to make subtle little jokes." Gabriella sensed the slight annoyance that featured in Troy's tone; she placed a gentle kiss against his shoulder.

"Just ignore him Troy. We got used to it when we really were kids, we will just have to get used to it again." Troy nodded slowly, leaning down and kissing Gabriella's silky lips quickly.

"Come on, Sofia will be getting hungry real soon, we should get to the grocery store." Gabriella nodded and shifted Sofia in her arms so that she could pick up the diaper bag that had had been sitting by the door.

"Ignore your father Troy, he's only joking around with you. I'm so happy for you two." Lucille spoke with kindness and honesty as she watched three of the four most precious people in her life leave happily together.

---

"Troy you have to make sure you get the good formula milk not just the cheapest one." Gabriella snatched the tub of cheap infant formula from Troy's hands and picked up another tub of more expensive formula from the shelf.

"You have to look at the contents, most of the cheap stuff has horrible stuff in it that could make her sick, see this one has just the good stuff." She put it in the shopping cart and turned towards Troy, who was still looking slightly confused.

"But that one is $8 Ella, I cant afford to pay that much for fake milk." Gabriella shook her head at Troy's comment and put her hands firmly on Troy's waist.

"Listen Troy, $8 a week is nothing to make sure that she's healthy. If its too much I don't mind paying for it, seriously. She's just as much mine as she is yours now Troy, my first duty as new mommy is to buy her proper formula milk." Troy smiled at Gabriella and pulled her closer to him by her hip.

"You; are the most amazing woman I've ever met. I can't wait to spend my life with you." He wrapped his arms tightly around her not caring that everyone else in the store had their eyes tuned of the hugging couple.

Gabriella sighed happily.

Grocery store cuddles…totally hot.

"We should finish off here Troy, people are starting to stare." Gabriella attempted to pull away from Troy and make her way back to the cart but his strong protective arms prevented her from doing so.

"I don't care if people are watching." Troy moved forward and attached his loving lips to Gabriella soft ones. Not caring that all of the other people in the store had now fully stopped what they were doing and began giving their full attention to the couple.

"Come on, really Troy. Sofia will be getting really hungry and I want to get home and snuggle into bed, I'm so tired." Her forehead was rested against Troy's and her strong brown eyes were staring into his delicate blue ones.

"Alright, you win. Show's over people you can all go back to going about your own business, have a lovely day." Troy called to all of the people who had been stood watching them, his tone cheerful yet laced with sarcasm.

Gabriella buried her head into Sofia's soft body that was nestled into the baby seat on the cart.

"Oh princess, your daddy is so embarrassing." She kissed Sofia's nose as she moved the cart swiftly into the next isle away from the preying eyes.

---

Troy sat on Gabriella's large king sized bed and listened to the splashing noises that were coming from the en suite bathroom.

After Gabriella had fed Sofia she decided it was time for the two of them to have a big bubbly bath. She had run enough water to cover her up to her mid stomach but the fluffy bubbles made it seem much deeper.

Troy sneaked quietly towards the unlocked door and opened it just enough to see Gabriella holding Sofia tightly in her hands while he tiny baby kicks her legs through the warm water and waved her arms through the airy bubbles.

"It looks like your having way too much fun without me," Troy's calm voice startled Gabriella and forced her to look towards Troy's head that was poking around the door.

"You could come in if you wanted to, we wouldn't mind, would we Princess?" Gabriella lifted Sofia higher up into the cold air and brought her quickly back down into the bubbles and water causing her to kick her arms and legs even faster.

"I wouldn't want to spoil your bonding time, I'll just sit over here and watch my two favorite girls have a good time." Gabriella giggled slightly and settled Sofia back down to rest against the softness of her chest.

"You know, I spoke to the Mexican health authority. I sent them DNA copies and information and they managed to track down Sofia's birth records. She was born 26th July. She's just 2 months old." Troy smiled, he felt terrible for not knowing his daughters birthday but now he finally had all the information he needed to start playing the real dad.

All thanks to Gabriella.

"That's more than fantastic Ella, thank you so much. That means she was only days old when she was left with me. She was tiny, I mean she still is, but I never realized she was that young." Gabriella looked down to the 2-month-old baby girl that was lying sleeping on her chest with the water lapping gently around her tiny body.

"She'll start smiling and laughing soon. She's already so beautiful, I cant imagine how much more beautiful she'll be when we finally see her smile." Troy noticed immediately that Gabriella's words mirrored those of a mother who was holding her baby.

She was so natural with Sofia; he couldn't understand why it had been so easy for her to accept a baby that belonged to another woman.

"How do you do it Gabriella? Anyone would think that she really was yours; the way you look at her, the way you talk about her, the look on your face when someone mentions her or when you see her. I just…you could have so easily rejected me and her, but you never did." Gabriella sat up slowly, being careful to prevent Sofia from slipping down into the water.

She suddenly wondered if this was a conversation they should be having while she was naked.

"I don't look at her as someone else's child Troy, she's a part of you that you're allowing me to share, I would never turn that down. Everyone makes mistakes and I would never punish you or her for those, as far as I'm concerned she is mine." Gabriella got up slowly, handed a wet Sofia to Troy's awaiting arms and wrapped a warm towel around herself.

"You amaze me more and more each day." Troy's words smoothly left his mouth as he walked forwards and placed a kiss against Gabriella's warm wet lips.

"I'm going to go and get dressed and put Sofia's travel crib together. She'll want her some more milk before she goes to bed." She placed one last kiss just left of Troy's lips before walking off into her bedroom to find some clothes.

---

Twenty minute later Gabriella padded down the carpeted hallway and into the living room where Troy was sat watching basketball on TV with Sofia comfortingly rested in his lap.

"Have you warmed her up some milk?" she asked as me made her way towards the back of the couch and wrapped her arms around Troy's warm shoulders.

"Yeah, it's sat on the side in the kitchen." Gabriella nodded, walked towards the kitchen to pick up the warmed bottle of milk and headed back to the couch to feed a still sleeping Sofia.

"Come one baby girl," Gabriella gently lifted Sofia from Troy's lap and held her closely against her chest, rubbing the clear plastic teat against her tiny lips.

Troy watched as Gabriella held the bottle firmly in Sofia's mouth, delicately brushing the baby's soft cheek as she held her head steady.

"You're a natural at all this mommy stuff you know, I wish it came so easily to me." Gabriella looked up at Troy, slowly removed the bottle from Sofia's lips and handed it to Troy.

"You're a fantastic dad Troy, you just need a little father daughter bonding time, starting now." Once Troy had placed the bottle securely between his knees, he took Sofia from Gabriella arms and held her protectively.

"I don't know that this is such a good idea El, she'll never settle with me like she does with you. I can't count how many times I've been around here since I met you again because I couldn't settle her." Sofia began to fuss a little as she settled into the new arms, missing the warmth of Gabriella's soft chest.

"Just gently rub the top of the bottle against her lips and make sure she feels supported, she wont drink it if she feels like she's going to fall." Troy tightened his grip around his daughter and watched happily as she finally latched onto the bottle and began to drink the warm milk.

"She's never let me feed her like this before, this is amazing. I haven't been able to feed her for weeks she just won't have it from me, she'll let mom and dad but never me. Thank you so much." Gabriella shook her head and placed a gentle kiss against Troy's flushed cheek.

"It was all you, let me know when she's done so I can give her some of the Colief drops that we picked her up, she'll get colic if we don't and she'll scream all night, leaving no time for you and me." Troy looked examined the cheeky glint that flashed through Gabriella's chocolate brown eyes.

"Why? Got something planned?" He asked, hoping that the answer would be yes and that it would have something to do with them, a bed and lots of kissing.

"Oh well you know, just this and that. I'm going to go change, let me know when she's done." Troy's eyes followed Gabriella's fluid movements as she disappeared down the hallway and through the bedroom door.

These plans better be good.

---

The first thing Troy noticed when he returned from finally managing to get Sofia to sleep was that Gabriella had dimmed the lights and scented candles had been lit in various positions around the living room area of the apartment.

"Ella?" Troy called out for his girlfriend, wondering just what these promised plans were.

"In the kitchen," his head turned towards the sound of her voice and his body began to move towards the kitchen.

"What's with all the lights?" Troy asked curiously, as he watched Gabriella putting together food on plated.

"I though we could have some dinner alone together, watch a movie, talk about some stuff. We haven't really had chance to just be alone since we got back together." Troy nodded slowly, wrapping his arms tightly around Gabriella's small waist.

"I say that sounds like the best plans I've heard in a long time." He nuzzled her neck gently with his nose, enjoying the sound of her infection giggles filling his ears.

"Go and warm up the couch, I'll be in with the food." Troy nodded and made his way to the large couch, laying on it and covering himself with the large apple green blanket that rested over the back of the couch.

Gabriella walked back into the room with two large trays filled with amazing smelling food.

"Is that what I think it is?" Troy asked excitedly, hoping that the food that Gabriella was about to present to him was what he thought it was.

"Absolutely! My extra special world famous enchiladas, especially for you. Although, you have been in Mexico for the last 5 years so you've probably had enchiladas better than mine." Troy shook his head and took the tray quickly from Gabriella's hands.

"No one's enchiladas are better than yours babe, it's just not possible." Gabriella giggled as she sat her self down next to Troy on the couch, who was already inhaling the food that had been put in front of him.

"Oh god this is amazing, best thing I've ever tasted." Troy moaned as he put the last piece of food into his mouth, savoring the taste before he swallowed.

"There's no need to get hot and bothered over there Troy, its just food." Troy laughed at Gabriella's cheeky remark before taking her empty plate from her hands and pulling her towards him.

"There is one thing in this room that's making me hot and it's not the food." He dug his hands deep into her hair and pressed romantic kisses along her hairline before moving down her nose and finally to her perfect lips.

As Troy's lips massaged her own Gabriella's thoughts traveled back to the night 2 police officers told her they thought Troy was dead, she thought back to her sudden need to spend just one last night with him, to be able to feel him touching her, loving her.

She would have never imagined those desires would be fulfilled.

Troy rolled over on the couch slightly allowing both himself and Gabriella to lay side by side, lips still firmly attached and hands roaming freely over each other's bodies.

As much as Gabriella was loving the passion, the couch was beginning to get a little uncomfortable.

"Let's go somewhere more comfortable." She spoke quietly as she took hold of Troy's hand, led him around the room to blow out the candles before moving quickly into her bedroom.

Troy pressed Gabriella firmly up against the dark crimson walls, his hands moving up and down her body as her moans grew deeper.

He wrestled with the small buttons on her shirt for a few minutes before slipping it from her shoulders, down her arms and discarding it onto the floor.

"If you want me to stop just say." Troy whispered as he began to press kisses to the skin below her chin, moving down into her chest slowly as his hands worked at her bra clasp.

"I don't ever want you to stop." She moaned as she felt her bra straps slide down her arms to join her shirt on the floor.

Troy took a minute to take in a site that he never thought he'd see this close ever again, sure he'd seen her naked in the bathtub a few times recently but that was nothing in comparison to having no sight or touch limitations.

His lips moved further down her chest, making their way down towards her nipples tantalizingly slowly.

But one he finally arrived it was definitely worth it.

He massaged her right nipple with his first finger and thumb as his lips gently caressed the left.

Gabriella fingers began to pull at the hem of Troy's shirt, she to had a yearning to see the body she had missed for so many years.

Troy lifted his arms slowly, unattaching his lips from her breasts for only seconds as she pulled his cotton shirt over his head and threw it as far away as possible.

Troy placed his hands on Gabriella hips and began to bring her forward, allowing the pair to fall onto the bed comfortably.

His attention soon turned back to massaging the soft delicate skin of chest.

Her fingers began to become restless in Troy's hair and moved south to begin working on his metal belt buckle.

"You gotta give me a hand here Troy." She spoke as she moaned loudly, beginning to miss the feeling of Troy's amazing fingers working their magic on her upper half.

He worked quickly to remove his belt and pants, tossing them blindly as he returned to his previous position.

Gabriella's hand moved slowly down Troy's stomach as wriggled around to find a more comfortable position for the two of them to share.

She quickly arrived at the elastic of his boxers, her hand not waiting for permission before entering and delicately touching the skin around his hardening length.

Her fingers wrapped around it, squeezing gently as she moved up and down, relishing at the sound of Troy's loud moans.

"Oh god baby, that feels so good." His moans increasing as she applied more pressure and increased her speed.

With Troy's help, Gabriella had to managed to rid of her flannel pants and was left in just her silk blue panties and Troy in green plaid boxers.

"They're getting in the way Troy, take them off." He wasn't exactly going to refuse; he quickly removed the offending article, lacing his fingers under the fabric of Gabriella's panties.

"I'm naked now, you should be to." He whispered against her hot skin, but she shook her head and looked downwards to his impressive penis.

"You enjoyed your view, let me enjoy mine for a while." She giggled happily, running her fingers up and down slowly as her eyes took in the very large view.

"I think that's enough of a view now El, I don't think I can hold out much longer." He flipped her onto her back quickly, making sure he used his elbows to support the majority of his weight so as not to squash her.

"Are you sure you want to do this El, because we can stop right now if that's what you want." Troy rubbed the end of his nose affectionately against hers, allowing her lips to brush against his chin.

"Does it look like I want to stop." Troy examined her features; her cheeks flushed, her eyes bright and her skin white-hot.

"No." he whispered again, this time his tone oozed passion, longing and love.

He waited patiently for a final conforming smile; this had been something he had always done when they had made love, just for the last bit of reassurance that he wasn't hurting her.

When that smile finally came, he pushed into her slowly.

Her moans grew louder and his hips rocks rhythmically as Troy moved in and out of her slowly.

She tried to find words to tell him how amazing she was feeling but every time she went to speak all that came out were noises of passion and pleasure.

"Oh…god." She finally managed to speak if only for a second as Troy's pace began to quicken.

"Don't speak baby." He whispered ghostly against her still hot cheek, loving the sound of her moans more than her words.

Before long Troy could feel intensity building up within him, he knew it wouldn't be long before he had to let go.

"I'm so close." He moaned as Gabriella's hips rocked to meet his now accelerated thrusts.

"Me too, just a few more minutes." She begged quietly as she tightened her grasp of Troy with her legs.

His moans began to get more frequent and he gripped Gabriella's shoulders tightly as he felt the blood rushing to his long length and a wave of passion over took him.

He kept up his thrusts, slowing them ever so slightly as he felt Gabriella contracting around him tightly.

Seconds later the lustful pair collapsed together, chest heaving and pleasure radiating between them.

"Wow." She tried to speak more words, words of thanks, of love, but she couldn't grasp enough control.

"Thank you," he spoke in a hushed tone, afraid that if he raised his voice to anything above a whisper the moment would be broken forever.

"No, thank you." He smiled at her response, rolling off her slowly and pulling her close to his body.

"I love you," his words were almost inaudible, but she heard them loud and clear.

She sighed with contentment. Things couldn't be more perfect.

"I love you to," she whispered quietly, feeling massive relief that the three small words were finally out in the open.

**Well that was more…intense than I had originally planned so I hope you like it and uhh don't forget to review!!**


	8. Morning Sun

**The new chapter is here, I hope you enjoy it. I'm working hard on some ideas for this story so bare with me if the chapters take a while to come out. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Troy's eyes opened slowly, taking in the golden morning sunshine that flooded through the open curtains. He rolled over in bed, extending his arm out expecting to feel the warm body of Gabriella.

But he found nothing.

"Ella?" He whispered quietly, sitting himself up in bed and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

As he looked around the room there was still no sign of Gabriella, fearing the worst he dashed out of bed, butt naked, and ran through the hallway into the living room.

His movements froze when he saw Gabriella cradling a whimpering Sofia tightly in her arms, pressing the baby up against her bra clad chest.

"Shh, what's all this fuss about baby girl? You're not hungry, you're not hot, you're not sick. You just want a little bit of mommy attention don't you? Well I'll do my best." Gabriella whispered quietly to the two month old baby girl who was beginning to settle.

Troy stopped himself from walking closer to Gabriella, despite his desperate need to be close to her after the amazing night they had shared together just hours earlier, he didn't want to disturb the mommy daughter bonding time that he knew was essential, especially for Gabriella.

He watched as Gabriella tickled Sofia's tiny tummy, still unaware that he was watching them lovingly. She stopped dead on her tracks, looking down at the tiny baby with wide eyes, Troy couldn't see what was happening but still didn't make tracks into the living room area.

"Oh my god, baby girl! I can't believe it! I hope that wasn't a one off, Daddy will want to see that in the morning." Troy was now desperate to know what Sofia had done, it was obviously something of a milestone, and he could no longer resist walking over to the pair.

"What will Daddy want to see in the morning?" He asked, causing Gabriella to jump slightly. She smiled at his presence and turned Sofia so she was facing Troy.

"Can you do it again princess? Especially for Daddy?" Gabriella asked, tickling Sofia's baby tummy identically to the previous time, hoping the baby would repeat her actions.

And she did. There right on the babies face was the biggest, happiest, most beautiful first ever smile.

"Check that out! I can't believe it! Such a beautiful smile, I'm so proud of you princess." Troy took Sofia from Gabriella's arms and spun her around in circles, watching as her new found smile became wider and wider.

"She loves you so much," Gabriella commented, watching as Father and Daughter glow in each other's presence.

"Hey El, she loves you to. Her first ever smile was for you, she think your her mommy...wait no, she knows your her mommy. You always will be and she'll always know that." Gabriella nodded, walking towards Troy and taking Sofia from his arms.

"What do you say we go for breakfast? I have the day off, how does a nice family day together sound?" She asked, using her free hand to pull Troy towards her, allowing her to hold the two people she loved the most close to her heart.

"I think that sounds like the best idea you've had since...well last night actually." Gabriella blushed at Troy's comment, it hadn't been her intention for the pair to sleep together but she was more than thankful that it had.

"I don't regret it one tiny little bit and I hope you don't either. It was one of the best nights we have ever shared together." Troy smiled and pulled Gabriella close into his body.

"I could never regret doing anything like that with you El, I'm glad it was as special for you as it was for me." The couple blissful loving moment was interrupted by Sofia's gentle whimpering; Gabriella looked over at the small baby and smiled.

"We hadn't forgotten you were there you know. Come on, let's get you dressed and we can go get breakfast, I'll feed you while Mommy and Daddy are waiting for their food." Gabriella bounced Sofia in her arms as their made their way towards the bedroom.

Troy remained fixed to his spot on the living room floor. How had things become so perfect?

---

Snuggled in a booth at Denny's waiting for their breakfast order. Troy sat comfortably with his arm wrapped tightly around Gabriella, while she fed Sofia.

"How old?" The aging waitress asked the couple as she brought their drinks to the table.

"Almost three months." Gabriella replied happily, settling into the role of mommy, happily allowing the waitress to assume that the baby was hers.

"Do you breastfeed? I breastfed all of mine, best way I believe. She really is beautiful." The question threw Gabriella slightly, what was she supposed to say? What could she say that wouldn't make her look like a horrible mother or allow the waitress to conclude the baby wasn't hers.

"I can't, medical problems. Troy, take the baby I'm going to the bathroom." Gabriella quickly passed Sofia to Troy, got up from the booth and walked quickly to the bathroom.

"I hope I didn't upset her at all, it wasn't my intention." The waitress looking a little distressed as she watched Gabriella disappear into the bathroom.

"You didn't, it's a touchy subject but really, you didn't upset her. She'll be fine." She nodded and quickly scurried away to the desk to add the drinks to the bill.

Troy looked down at Sofia; he had no idea why Gabriella had run off and was beginning to get worried that the waitress had in fact said something that had upset Gabriella.

His worries were soon dispelled when Gabriella returned from the bathroom and sat back down in the booth.

"What was all that about?" He asked, passing Sofia back to Gabriella where he knew she would probably be more comfortable.

"Sometimes it just bothers me that I can't give her what she really needs." Troy sighed, he was sure they had come past this but obviously it was an issue that would remain in Gabriella's mind until she was satisfied.

"Baby, we've talked about this. You love her, you provide a home for her, and you care for her. So you can't breastfeed, but would she be having that if it was just me looking after her? No. She needs you just to be there, do you really think she minds what kind of milk she has? I know she'd mind if you weren't here anymore. You're her Mommy Gabriella, she knows that and that's all that matters." Troy placed a gentle kiss on Gabriella's forehead, pulled her closer to him with the arm that was already wrapped tightly around her shoulders.

"You're right, you're always right." Gabriella lifted Sofia up onto her shoulder and rubbed her back gently, kissing Troy gently on the cheek as she did so.

"Of course I'm right, I'm always right. Now come on mommy, eat up your pancakes, I have a busy family day planned." Gabriella giggled happily as Troy dug into his sausage, egg and French toast with a grin spread widely across his face.

---

Bright rays of sun burst through the branches of the trees at Novella Park as Gabriella relaxed back against the long green grass.

The last three days had been crazy.

She had rekindled the love of her life, and she had gained a beautiful daughter.

She sat up slowly, leaning back on her elbows for support as she watched Troy sweeping Sofia down the long slide next to the swing set.

She smiled widely at the sound of Sofia's new squealing giggle, life really was great.

"That's a very beautiful baby you've got there," a voice broke Gabriella from her gaze, forcing her to look up at the middle aged lady holding a small boy.

"Thank you. We're having a family day out, Troy absolutely loves it." Gabriella replied realizing quickly she was talking to this lady like she had known her for weeks rather than seconds.

"He looks like a really great dad, you're lucky. Ethan's dad didn't want to know." Gabriella let herself fall back onto the grass, inviting the lady to sit down by patting the spot next to her.

"I'm really sorry about that, it must be really hard for you. I'm Gabriella by the way." She offered her hand to the lady who took it graciously.

"Erin and this here is Ethan." Gabriella smiled and took hold of the small baby's hand shaking it gently.

"Hey there Ethan. How old is he?" She asked, casting her eyes quickly back to Troy and Sofia before focusing back on Erin.

"Five months old, how old is your little one?" Erin asked, allowing Gabriella to take Ethan from her arms and tickle his tummy.

"She's almost three months old. She smiled for the first time this morning and now she can't stop. Troy is so proud." Gabriella smiled widely as she watched Troy kiss Sofia's face affectionately as he lifted her up into the air.

"Are the two of your married?" Erin asked, Gabriella shook her head, her happy grin turning into somewhat of a sad smile.

"No, we've had so much going on recently I don't think either of us have even though about marriage." Erin nodded and followed Gabriella's gaze to Troy and Sofia who were making their way back towards Gabriella.

"Hey there beautiful, Sofia was starting to get fussy, I think she wants her mommy." Troy passed a whimpering Sofia to Gabriella who cradled her tightly in her arms.

"Erin, this is Troy. Troy, this is Erin and her son Ethan. They're having a day at the park like us." Troy smiled and nodded his head in Erin's direction.

"We should arrange a play date or something. I think Sofia would love another little person she can play with for a few hours," Erin nodded and pulled a piece of paper and a pen from Ethan's diaper bag.

"Here's my number, call me anytime and we can arrange a date and a time. It was so lovely meeting you Gabriella and you to Troy. We better be going Ethan" Erin stood up and picked Ethan and his diaper bag up from ground and walked away from Troy and Gabriella towards the parking lot.

"I feel so terrible, we're so happy and you're the most perfect daddy in the world. Ethan's dad left before he was born. Thank you for bringing Sofia to me." Gabriella looked right into Troy's eyes, this was really the first time she had told Troy how thankful she was.

Troy pulled Gabriella into his arms, laying them both down on the grass and making sure Sofia was safely lying on the blanket next to them.

"Thank you for accepting us, honestly Gabriella; I don't know what I would do without you." Troy kissed the end of Gabriella's nose gently before brushing the tip of his nose against her smooth cheek.

"Well, we'll never have to find out will we. Come on, I have work in the morning and I'm sure your parents want some Sofia time." Troy nodded and stood up from the glass, pulling Gabriella up with him by her hands before lifting Sofia gently from the blanket and holding her tightly in his arms.

---

Troy sighed as he flicked through pages of the local newspaper.

With Sofia sleeping besides him and his mother out grocery shopping he decided it was time he started looking for a job. He knew he couldn't rely on Gabriella for everything, he just wouldn't allow it.

"Legal receptionist…no. Biology tutor needed…no. Part time housekeeper…no. This is no use." Troy threw the paper to the floor as anger rushed through his veins, how could he ever be good enough for Gabriella if he couldn't bring in any money.

He picked up Sofia from the couch as she began to wake up from her morning nap. He kissed her delicate baby nose before standing up from the couch and pulling the tiny cotton hat onto her head.

"Come on, let's go for a walk. I think we both need the fresh air." Slamming the door behind him, Troy headed towards the downtown area.

Maybe he would find more job opportunities there.

Troy sat himself down on a bench; he had forgotten how far exhausting the long walk to downtown was.

"What are we going to do princess?" Troy lifted Sofia to look her in the eyes, hoping she would come up with a miracle answer.

Her large mahogany stared into his and she looked at him for a second before expelling her new found adorably cute baby giggle.

"No, of course you have no idea. Stupid daddy." Troy was completely sure where these new esteem issues had come from, he just knew that he couldn't rely on Gabriella for the important things much longer.

"You know chubby cheeks, if you don't help me come up with an answer soon you'll be having that cheap formula again and I know you like the one mommy brought much better. So you better get thinking." Troy squeezed Sofia's cheeks cheekily, relishing the sound of her happy squeals as she kicked her arms and legs.

"Well, well, well, do my eyes deceive me? Troy Bolton." Troy turned around as he heard his name, his eyes stopped on a tall dark skinned man with hair tightly pinned back into a fluffy yet manly ponytail.

"Chad?" Troy asked shocked, he hadn't seen his past best friend since he had left for University of Arizona at the end of senior year while Troy had stayed in Albuquerque and then disappeared.

"Yeah, dude! The last I heard you were missing, your mom and Gabs looked distraught on the TV. When did you get back?" Troy wasn't sure what to tell Chad, he was just starting to rebuild his life in Albuquerque and with Sharpay already off side he didn't need another person trying to convince Gabriella he was a waste of space.

"Not long ago, I was in Mexico for a really long time. What have you been up to?" Troy made light conversation with Chad as he shifted Sofia in his arms, hoping that Chad wouldn't ask questions.

"I've been living in Arizona with my girlfriend; I'm coaching basketball and track at one of the local high schools." Troy smiled and nodded, he was glad that at least one of them was living their dreams of a career in sport.

"That's so awesome, did you ever hear from Taylor after she went to Yale?" Chad shook his head, he had heard of her but not directly from her.

"The last time I spoke to Gabriella just after you had disappeared she told me Taylor had move to somewhere in Europe with a guy that she was going to marry over there. She really upset Gabs and as far as I know they haven't spoken since. Not that I've spoken to her in years either." Troy was shocked that Gabriella hadn't mentioned her fallout with Taylor but he knew there was no way he could press for details.

"Crazy. So tell me about your girlfriend, what's she like?" Troy shot another question at Chad, hoping that he wouldn't be able to get a word in and ask awkward questions.

"She's fantastic. She's got dark hair and these bright blue eyes. She's 6 months pregnant." Troy smiled widely and shook Chad's hands in congratulations, pleased that his friend was living such a happy and fulfilled life.

"That's amazing, congratulations man. You must be so excited." Chad nodded enthusiastically obviously basking in the glow of pre-fatherhood.

"Yeah I'm so excited. Talking about babies, who is this little beauty?" Troy inwardly cringed, he was torn between telling the truth or lying to preserve the new life he was building for himself.

"Sofia, she's mine. I'm so absolutely overwhelmingly proud that she's mine." Troy told himself the best way was to just tell half the truth and allow Chad to assume what he wanted to assume.

"That's great dude, she looks just like Gabriella. I'm glad you came back and worked through whatever issues made you run." Troy nodded again, relieved that Chad had assumed what he'd hoped he would without any outside encouragement.

Their manly moment was then broken by Troy cell phone ringing loudly. He looked at the name on the screen and smiled

_Gabriella _

"Hey beautiful, you'll never guess who I bumped into today. Chad." Troy smiled as he heard Gabriella laugh at the other end of the line.

"That's great but can you please come and meet me from work. It's been a difficult day." Gabriella sighed into the phone as she rethought what had happened during her trialing day.

"Do you wonna talk about it baby?" Troy asked, sensing that it was something serious that had plagued Gabriella's day with stress and sadness.

"We'll talk later, I just wonna go home. Say hello to Chad for me and make sure you get his number. Tell Sofia I love her lots. I'll see you soon, I love you." Gabriella sounded rushed as she ended the conversation with Troy, not even giving him time to reply.

"Mommy says she loves you," Troy spoke softly to Sofia as he placed a nuzzling kiss against her chubby cheek.

"I better let you get off dude, call me we'll meet up sometime before I go back to Arizona." Troy nodded and accepted the paper with a scribbled number on it before he stood up from the bench, adjusting Sofia in his arms as he did so.

"I definitely will man, I'll see you around sometime." Chad waved as he walked off in the other direction.

Troy couldn't help but feel his old life was trying to tell him something.

As he strolled leisurely down the long shop fronted street on his way to Albuquerque woman and children's health clinic he glanced into the windows at all of the interesting things that you could buy.

It was then that something bright and shiny caught his eye.

A ring.

A white gold diamond ring.

He frowned; he couldn't work out why the ring had caught his eye over all of the other shiny items in the window.

He knew it was an engagement ring, that was clear to anyone that looked at it but he wasn't planning to propose to Gabriella, was he?

His mind was surely playing tricks on him, he had only been back for a few weeks but within those few short weeks he knew his love for Gabriella had grown tremendously.

"I think this is a sign baby girl, daddy really does have to get a job." Troy spoke softly Sofia as he looked at the small price tag attached to the ring.

$2000, it would have to be some job.

Troy shook his head, pushing any idea of a ring and the ginormous amount of money needed to buy it completely from his head and concentrated on making his way to collect Gabriella from work.

He soon arrived at the door of the clinic and quickly spotted Gabriella sat in one of the waiting room chairs head in hands being comforted by another young nurse.

"Ella? Baby, what happened?" Gabriella looked up at the sound of Troy's voice and immediately ran into his arms, being care not to squish Sofia as she snuggled into his chest.

"One of the young girls that comes to my antenatal clinic was taken into the ICU today. She's five months pregnant, they don't know what's wrong with her but she's really sick. I saw her three days ago Troy, I should have spotted this, I should have done something." Troy sat down on one of the plastic chairs and pulled Gabriella into his lap.

"Gabriella, I know very well that you would have done everything that was needed for that girl at the time. Baby, you're an amazing nurse and people get sick very quickly, this will never be your fault, no one will think that." Troy tried his best to comfort Gabriella, handing Sofia to her so that he could tightly wrap both his arms around her obviously fragile body.

"Troy is right Gabriella, you spoke with the ICU doctor for ages and he said that all the urine cultures were clear and all of her blood work was clear, even if she was sick when she was here a few days back you would never have known. All of the antenatal tests that we do have all come back inconclusive, no one in the world is blaming you for this." Nancy, the young nurse trying desperately to comfort Gabriella spoke up for the first time.

"She's just eighteen years old Troy; there must have been something I could have done to prevent this. Can we just go home? I'm really, really tired." Troy nodded, taking Gabriella's free hand and pulling her up to her feet.

"Thank you for taking care of her Nancy. Come on you, let's go home." Gabriella smiled and Nancy and old friend Julianne before she made her way out of the clinic's automatic door snuggled tightly into Troy's side.

---

Troy looked across the room towards the couch where Gabriella was feeding Sofia.

Her feelings of guilt and upset had started to dispel since they had arrived back at her apartment, they had spent hours just cuddled up on the couch as a family, enjoy relaxing time alone together.

"I've started looking for a job." Troy suddenly spoke, Gabriella looked up from Sofia with her eyebrows knitted together.

"Why? I thought you loved staying at home and looking after Sofia, who will have her when you get a job?" Troy moved towards the couch and sat down next to Gabriella, slinging his around her shoulder and kissing her cheek.

"Mom offered to take Sofia during the day while I go out to work and when dad has the days off he said he'd be stoked to take care of her as well," Gabriella nodded slowly, adjusting Sofia's position so she was leaning comfortably over her shoulder.

"Do you not want to wait a while until she's a bit older? Working all day is going to mean missing out on so much, she's still so young." Troy nodded in agreement but took a deep breath to carrying on voicing his opinion on the calm discussion they were having.

"I would love nothing more than to stay home and be there for every single milestone she makes but I can't keep relying on you Gabriella, it's not fair on either of us." Gabriella nodded realizing that Troy's thoughts were right.

"I guess you're right, what are you going to do?" Troy shrugged passing the jobs classified to Gabriella.

"Looks like you haven't had much luck searching. You know, I was speaking to Uncle Jack yesterday he's been looking for an assistant coach for months. Why don't you speak to him about it, you would hate an office job." Troy smiled widely and placed a long loving kiss against Gabriella's soft lips.

"You, my stunningly beautiful girlfriend, are the most amazing woman in the world."

**I hope you have all enjoyed the small developments in this chapter as well as the introduction of Chad who will definitely be making more appearances. Don't forget to leave me reviews and if you have anything you would like to see in the story please do let me know in reviews. Thank you so much for reading. **

**After thought: I just changed how far along in her pregnancy the girl in the ICU is because I don't want people thinking it's Chad's girlfriend, it isn't hehe**


	9. She Couldn't Be More Wrong

**First of all I would like to apologize for the massive delay in updating. I've had a giant writers block and it took me ages to get over it. I may have also gotten a little distracted by Jon and Kate plus 8…I'm addicted!!! So apologies but hopefully this chapter will make up for it.**

**I'd just like to say thank you to the few of you that reviewed my last chapter. I really do like to hear all your thoughts and even ideas if you have any. A few more reviews for this chapter would be greatly appreciated though, I work really hard to get these chapters out and I know that people read them so please if you have read the chapter please leave a review, it only takes a second of your time. **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

_When I saw you I was afraid to meet you. When I met you I was afraid to kiss you. When I kissed you I was afraid to love you. Now that I love you, I am afraid to lose you._ ~ Unknown

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Gabriella stood in the doorway of the dark nursery. It had been Troy's turn to see to Sofia if she awoke during the night but Gabriella couldn't help but watch as Troy tried to settle the baby back to sleep.

Neither Troy nor Gabriella could believe how quickly Sofia was growing; she'd grown from her tiny two month old form into a happy, healthy, bouncing seven month old treasure.

Troy had moved into Gabriella's spacious apartment soon after accepting a permanent post as Assistant Coach of the East High Wildcats alongside his Father. He had spent hours decorating one of Gabriella's dull storage rooms into a bright elaborate nursery for an ever growing Sofia.

The large room had two of its walls painted a pastel shade of pink, the other two painted with crisp white. The floor had been covered in wood effect vinyl tiles, with large pink flower shaped floor stickers placed in diagonal lines across the room.

A large white crib had been placed in the right far corner of the bedroom, the white and pink polka dot bed crib covers matching the long drapes that hung against the window.

Both Troy and Gabriella had decided to keep the furniture in the room to a minimum, whilst Sofia was still so small it was more important to keep her safe from getting to adventurous as she started to find her feet than making the room look pretty and full.

A pink chair and foot stool, with a small table and lamp close by for nighttime feeds and changes, sat just across the room from the pink changing table that attached to the wall.

The last piece of furniture had been donated by Grandma and Grandpa Bolton. It was a miniature wooden pink rocking horse that Sofia had already grown very much attached to.

The room had turned out to be everything that Gabriella always hoped it would be. It had been transformed into a room that Sofia could love for many years to come.

Troy was at in the pink arm chair with his feet up on the stool, cradling an almost asleep Sofia in his arms, rocking her from side to side gently. It always warmed Gabriella to watch Troy with Sofia; all of a sudden he would turn from a macho protective man, into a calm and loving father.

"Round and round the cobbler's bench the monkey chased the weasel, the monkey thought it was all in fun. Pop! Goes the weasel" Troy finished his song and tapped Sofia's nose lightly as she slept, trying to make the beautiful moment they were sharing last even if just for a few more seconds.

He hadn't noticed Gabriella standing in the dark doorway, he had been too involved in his sleepy daughter to notice that everyone else in the world even existed.

It wasn't until she let out a contented sigh that he noticed her, leaning against the door frame with one of his shirts draped over her slim figure.

"How long have you been standing there?" He asked, a half smile forming on his face as she entered the dimly lit room and sat down next to him on the arm of the chair.

"Long enough to know you're the most amazing dad in the whole entire world," Gabriella lent down and placed a gentle kiss against Troy's sleepy lips, allowing the love she had for him to be expressed physically.

Troy stood up from the chair and carefully placed Sofia back down in her crib, hoping that the movement wouldn't wake her from her peaceful slumber.

Getting up during the night was beginning to become a rare event for both Troy and Gabriella, with Sofia starting to sleep through most nights the couple had been able to bask in the amount of blissful time they had alone together.

He wouldn't admit it to anybody but Troy sort of missed getting up in the middle of the night every night without fail. He enjoyed sitting in Sofia's bedroom, feeding her, changing her and watching her sleep.

Even after hundreds of nights spent doing that very routine, his disbelief that he had created something so beautiful never faltered.

"You should have stayed in bed, your running clinic in the morning. You're gonna be so tired." He spoke softly as he moved back across the room towards Gabriella, wrapping his arm tightly around her waist and kissing his favorite spot on her exposed neck.

Gabriella had been running a free clinic within University of New Mexico Hospital's ER department on Saturdays for the last two months.

The free clinic was something that Albuquerque hadn't had before, Gabriella had seen it work it other cities and had decided to take on the challenge of setting up the clinic.

She had approached the Director of Nursing along with the Medical Director, presented her ideas, showed statistics from other cities and handed over a large number of signatures from people who agreed that the clinic was a fantastic idea.

They had gained permission from UNM hospital to use one of the examination rooms and a small amount of waiting area space within the very spacious ER.

Gabriella couldn't believe how well the clinic had taken off, she was seeing all sorts of patients from homeless diabetics to teenagers wanting sex advice without worrying about having to pay and having their parents find out.

"I don't have to be there until 10, a few minutes being awake with you won't do me any harm. Come on super daddy, how does snuggling back into bed sound?" Troy smiled at Gabriella before bundling her up in his arms and carrying her back to their bedroom.

With the bed clothes pulled up tight around their bodies, it wasn't long before sleep overcame the happy couple.

---

Gabriella leaned her head down on the small desk and sighed, she had seen twenty eight patients during the four hours that she ran free clinic.

Thank goodness it was almost time to go home.

She stood up from her desk, exited the room and walked towards the ER department's nurse's station.

The nurse had been more than welcoming when the clinic first opened and many had become great friends to Gabriella in just a few short weeks.

"Looks like you had a busy day today Gabi. I got you a coffee, it didn't look like you've had time for a break" Alyssandra, a small French nurse, smiled as Gabriella approached the station, offering a cup of steaming coffee from the collection of hot drink that she had bought to share around between the busy staff.

"You're an angel! It's been absolutely crazy. I'm desperate to go home; I just have to file this paperwork." Alyssandra looked down at the mound of notes that Gabriella was carrying in her arms.

Although none of Gabriella's patients were obliged to give their names or any other identifying details, there were still masses of paperwork that needed to be logged.

For each patient there was an assessment document, a treatment document, requests for a doctor's opinion, copies of medication orders signed by said doctor and a sheet stating the supplies used for each patient.

"I can see mommy," Gabriella looked up after filing the very last piece of paper and spied Troy and an excited Sofia approaching the nurse's station.

She grinned happily, for some reason she had missed her family more than she usually would while she was at work, the good thing about this was that it made seeing them all the more special.

"What are you guys doing here? I thought I would be walking home, you really didn't have to come and meet me." Gabriella snuggled herself into Troy's open arms, kissing Sofia's soft cheek as she settled her head in its position on Troy's shoulder.

Troy wrapped his free arm tightly around Gabriella's shoulder, placing a loving kiss deep into her chocolate locks.

"We've missed you today. Sofia just couldn't wait another minute to see you. There might even be a special surprise waiting for you when we get home." Gabriella's eyebrows knitted together as she imagined what Troy put together for this seemingly random surprise.

Many thoughts ran through her head, it was definitely not a birthday, definitely not an anniversary, definitely not Valentine's Day or anything other such day. Her mind drew a complete blank.

"What's the occasion?" Gabriella asked curiously, becoming so immersed in the world within Troy's arms she completely forgot there was a busy emergency room filled with staff and patient's going about their day around them.

As soon as Gabriella had left for work at nine am that morning, Troy knew that he would miss her more than usual.

Once the couple had returned to bed the previous night, Troy laid wide awake cradling Gabriella tightly in his arms as she slept. He spent hours examining every inch of her being, noticing beautiful features that he hadn't even realized were there.

He had spotted a tiny freckle that sat at the top of her right breast. It was no different to any other freckle on her body, yet it seemed to stand out. In Troy's mind it was quickly decided that this very freckle was the most beautiful freckle in the world.

He couldn't quite believe that his love for Gabriella continued to grow with everyday that passed, every time he thought he couldn't possibly love her anymore than he already did, something happened that made him fall just that little bit deeper.

Being in love…undoubtedly the best feeling in the world.

"No occasion, we just wanted to let you know that we love you." Gabriella blushed at Troy's response as a couple of the nurses 'awwed', clutching their hands over their hearts excitedly, not realizing that they had burst the couple's invisible bubble that had, for those few moments, protected them from the world around them.

Alyssandra sighed softly to herself as she watched Troy and Gabriella interact; she couldn't imagine how amazing it felt to be in love as much as the couple obviously were.

She watched quietly as Troy brushed his nose affectionately against Gabriella's before moving to place a delicate kiss against her lips.

She had only once experienced love, before she had moved to American from her hometown in the very south of France.

She had fallen in love with a handsome Doctor, who went by the name of Nathanael Osa. They had been dating for eighteen months when Nathanael had proposed, Alyssandra of course agreed.

The dress had been bought, the venue booked and the flowers chosen. The couple's excitement was building more and more as the days until their wedding were counted down.

Tragically, just three days before the wedding, Nathanael had been involved in a head on collision, a driver had overtaken on some twisty road and collided with Nathanael's car coming in the other direction.

Alyssandra's life had fallen to pieces; she could no longer bear to stay in the town that had once been their home. She had taken the exam needed to practice in the USA, applied for a visa and left France, too broken by memories of the past to ever return home.

She had lost the love of her life, she wanted to be one hundred percent sure that Gabriella knew just how lucky she was to have Troy.

"Aww thank you. Come on, let's go home, It's been a busy day and I'm exhausted." Gabriella removed herself from Troy's arms and went to collect her purse from the locker room.

She opened up the locker she had been given, grabbed her cardigan to throw over her dark blue scrubs and threw her purse over her shoulder.

She was about to head back to Troy when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey Aly, thank you so much for the coffee today. I'll see you next week," Gabriella pulled Alyssandra into a friendly hug before once again proceeding towards the door.

"No wait Gabriella, can I talk to you for a second?" Gabriella frowned, she hoped there was nothing wrong but she couldn't think what would warrant such a serious tone.

She sat herself down in one of the large blue armchairs, place in the room for staff to relax before their sifts began, the anticipation in her veins building.

"I just wanted you to know how clear it is that what you and Troy have is really special. I just wanted to make sure that you knew how important it is to hold onto that." Alyssandra took a deep breath as she allowed her thoughts to spill from her mouth, she hoped that Gabriella didn't think she was intruding but she was desperate to prevent anyone going through the pain that she was still feeling.

Gabriella eyebrows knitted further together as she listened carefully to Alyssandra's words, even though Gabriella knew all of her friend's words were reasonable, she couldn't think why she felt so desperate to get them out.

"Is everything ok Aly?" Gabriella was becoming concerned, there was clearly something bothering Alyssandra and she hoped that she had been enough of a friend in recent weeks that problems could be freely shared between them.

Alyssandra looked up from her lap towards Gabriella, she had never shared her past with anybody since she had moved and she wasn't about to change that.

But she knew she had to settle Gabriella's worries for the subject not to be pushed.

"Just some bad past experiences, nothing really. I just wanted to let you know I think you guys make a beautiful couple and I hope that I can be as happy as you someday. And your daughter is really beautiful." Alyssandra was satisfied that her answer gave nothing away, even though she had really gotten to like Gabriella she didn't feel comfortable or confident enough to share her deepest darkest secret.

Gabriella sighed noticed the sad aura that suddenly hung around her usually bright and bubbly friends. It was clear to her that there was something bigger than she could ever imagine playing on the small girls mind, but she always knew that if and when she felt ready to share it she would be there.

"That means a lot to me, thank you." She smiled, standing up from her chair and pulling Aly into another hug, this time not only a hug of friendship but also of comfort and reassurance. She pulled away from the hug and smiled sadly at Alyssandra, realizing that she had left something very important out of the conversation. "If you ever want to talk about anything, you know where to find me."

With that, Gabriella left the room quietly and made her way back to her family.

---

"So beautiful girlfriend of mine, tell me all about your day," Troy spoke cheerfully as the couple walked in the direction of their apartment, Troy with one arm pushing Sofia's stroller and the other wrapped tightly around Gabriella's waist.

Gabriella giggled, Troy would always ask her what she had done during her shift but whenever she began to tell him a story that she found exciting he would scrunch up his face and announce that if she carried on he might actually be sick.

"You really don't want to hear about my day, I've done lots of things that will make you cringe with disgust." She smiled up at Troy, falling in love with the offended look on his face and pressing a kiss to the underside of his chin.

Troy chuckled, stopping walking so that he could use both hands to hold Gabriella's body to his.

"I'll have you know I have developed a very strong stomach since we got back together. I love you enough to want to hear all about the gruesome things you did today." Gabriella smiled, loving the fact that Troy wanted to be included in her work life and enjoying the sound of her three favorite words filling her ears.

She leaned up onto her tip toes and placed a delicate kiss against Troy's lips, burying one had deep into his hair and one onto Sofia's stroller for security.

It was at that moment she realized just how lucky she was to have the love of her life standing right in front of her.

It dawned on her after her talk with Alyssandra that some people never find 'the one' that they are meant to be with.

For such a long time after Troy had disappeared, Gabriella believed she would never find love and happiness again, her heart remained firmly in Troy's grasp and without proper closure she knew she would never be able to be with anybody else.

But here she was, in his arm, and she realized at that very second when her lips touched his that she had been taking for granted everything that she had.

She had found the one.

That one had given her a second chance at the life she had always dreamed of.

He had brought her a beautiful family.

"I love you so much." She whispered against his lips, wishing the rest of the world away and enjoying another peaceful moment cocooned in the love that she felt for Troy.

All of a sudden their moment was broken once again by a loud voice.

"I'm sorry to break this up, but there are children present." Troy recognized that voice; it was a voice that had broken almost every single one of his special moments with Gabriella right through High School.

Chad.

Troy pulled his lips away from Gabriella's, keeping his eyes closed and resting his forehead against hers, desperate not to lose physical contact.

Unfortunately, Gabriella had different ideas.

"Chad, is that you?" Gabriella screeched as she moved Troy aside to allow her to cast eyes on the person that disturbed their precious moment.

"That's right. Look at you Gab, you look amazing." Gabriella giggled happily and she wrapped her arms tightly around Chad's waist, not noticing the woman that was stood next to him.

Troy watched the scene before him, laughing as his girlfriend got lost in her own little world.

It felt just like old times.

All the thoughts of his disappearance, the hurt he caused and the memories he tainted disappeared from his mind as he watched the past reconnect with the future.

"I've missed you so much Chad, I can't believe we didn't keep in touch. There's so much to catch up on." Gabriella gushed excitedly as she removed her arms from Chad and made her way back into the comfort of Troy's.

This time it was Chad that smiled widely, he had always considered Gabriella as a sister and being without contact for so many years had definitely been difficult.

"I'd like you to meet my fiancée Ellen and our son Toby; we brought him down to visit my parents." Chad explained proudly as he lifted Toby from the stroller and held him tightly in his arms.

Gabriella gasped happily as she approached Chad slowly, taking in the tiny form of the baby nestled safely in his arms.

"Oh Chad, he's perfect. How old is he?" Gabriella gushed over the tiny baby, running her finger over his delicately soft cheek and down to his tiny hands.

"He's just over three weeks. How old is Sofia now?" Chad asked kindly, reminding Gabriella that she too had a family that Chad and his fiancée hadn't really been properly introduced to.

Walking back to Sofia's stroller Gabriella lifted a sleeping Sofia out and turned herself around so that Sofia was in full view of Chad.

Gabriella's eyes moved to Chad's fiancée, she had known that the woman's name was Ellen but had never seen a picture and had definitely not expected the figure that was standing in front of her.

The woman was small and slim, much like Gabriella, her very fair skin was accentuated by her wonderfully deep dark auburn hair and bright blue eyes.

She wore a knee length high waisted faintly patterned grey skirt that was matched perfectly with a black patent belt; a pink short sleeved top tucked perfectly into her skirt and finished off with a long grey cardigan.

"She's seven months old now; I can't believe how fast she's growing. You guys should make the most of Toby while he's tiny, he'll grow so quickly you won't know where the time has gone. Can I have a hold?" Gabriella smiled eagerly she passed Sofia to Troy, leaving her arms free to hold tiny baby Toby.

His skin was a light tan color and his hair a dark brown with tight curls, reflecting just now much of Chad had been passed on. He was dressed in a short sleeved blue t shirt covered with tiny denim overalls.

He was the picture of baby loveliness.

"It's so nice to finally meet you Gabriella, Chad has told me so much about you. I hope we can get to know each other while we're in town," Ellen's shy voice brought a smile to Gabriella's face; she too had been looking forward to meeting the girl that had stolen Chad's heart.

Troy and Chad began to feel a little left out as their girlfriends got to know each other, Troy felt it was his responsibility to pull Gabriella away from the scene and prevent the possibility of babysitting duties while she and Ellen spent endless hours shopping.

"I tell you what, why don't we all go out for dinner tonight? I know mom and dad would be happy to have Sofia for the evening, what about Toby? Would your parents be happy to take him?" Troy suggested, neither he nor Gabriella had had much alone time in the last couple of months and he thought it sounded like a fantastic idea to spend that time catching up with Chad and Ellen.

Chad nodded fiercely, showing that he knew his parents would be more than happy to look after Toby. They had been so excited to be introduced to their first grandson and had made it very clear that anytime Chad and Ellen were in town they would be more than happy to take care of Toby.

"That sounds like a fantastic idea; can you recommend any nice places?" Ellen asked quietly as she took back a fussing Toby from Gabriella's arms.

This was Ellen's first visit to Albuquerque; Chad's parents had always come to Arizona for visits because of her busy work schedule running her real estate business.

So far, she loved the sunny warm city.

"There's an Olive Garden not too far from the hospital, absolutely fantastic food. Something yummy, yet familiar." Troy suggested, knowing that Gabriella would be excited at the thought of spending the evening at one of her favorite restaurants.

Chad glanced at Ellen's cheerful face and nodded, pleased that Troy had suggested a restaurant that was in almost every city and had undoubtedly amazing food.

"That sounds like a fantastic idea; shall we meet there at around 7?" Chad suggested, pleased that he would finally be able to catch up with Troy and Gabriella properly without having to worry about other commitments cutting their evenings short.

Gabriella reached into her large purse and pulled out a small writing pad and a pink pen, quickly writing down the address of the restaurant and handing it to Ellen.

"This is so exciting, we'll see you later." Gabriella and Ellen exchanged a friendly hug before they both headed back towards their retrospective partners, continuing on with their days and looking forward to their evenings.

---

"Gabriella, baby, I'm telling you that you look beautiful. Please stop worrying." Troy placed a gentle kiss against Gabriella's forehead as she examined herself in the mirror for a fourth time.

Gabriella's stunning deep purple spaghetti strap dress, decorated with four small grey buttons that ran horizontally down the bodice, reached just above her knee. She had pulled on a long grey cardigan to protect her from the chilly evening breeze that would inevitably by present as sunset drew closer.

"Are you sure it's not too much?" She asked, worried that her attire was not appropriate for the evening ahead of her.

Troy pulled her tightly into his arms, running a comforting hand up and down her back while burying his face in her coconut scented hair.

"You look stunning, I'm so proud that you mine," he whispered quietly against her hair, relishing in the sound of her giggle.

"You don't look too bad yourself," Gabriella giggled as she kissed his lips quickly before making her way back towards her closet to pull out her favorite grey heels from the shoe rack.

Troy was dressed in smart dark denim jeans, a white dress shirt covered by a royal blue thin striped men's cardigan.

His smart casual look had always made Gabriella weak at the knees.

"Let's go beautiful, we'll be late if we're not careful." Troy grasped hold of Gabriella's hand as he grabbed his wallet and car keys before heading out of the door.

As Gabriella got herself into the care she realized that she hadn't really thanked Troy for the surprise that was awaiting her on her arrival home.

When the three had walked through the front door, Troy had directed Gabriella towards their kitchen. Sat waiting for her on the counter were fourteen cupcakes each with a letter on top spelling out 'we love you mommy'.

"Thank you again for this afternoon, it was so special. I really appreciate it." Troy smiled as the red stop light allowed him to lean across from the driver's seat to kiss Gabriella's soft cheek.

He had been trying for weeks to show how appreciative and thankful he was of Gabriella. All off a sudden the idea came to him, everyone loved cupcakes and what better way to show someone you love them and then be able to eat it afterwards.

"You are more than welcome. You do so much for us every day, it was the smallest thing we could do for you in return." Troy exclaimed as returned his eyes to the road, making a swift right turn in the restaurant parking lot.

As the couple pulled open the door they were soon greeted by a cheerful looking Chad and a stunningly dressed Ellen.

She wore a knee length tunic styled dress patterned with intricate brown and green designs, accentuated with hints of mid tone purple.

Her basic tan flats made sure that attention remained firmly on the dress that complimented her hair color perfectly.

You would never have known that she had given birth just three short weeks before.

"Ellen you look fantastic! Have you guys been seated yet?" Gabriella asked excitedly moving back towards Troy and grasping hold of his arm.

"We're right over there in the booth." Chad spoke as he grabbed two menus for Troy and Gabriella and lead the couple back to where he and Ellen had been previously seated.

It had been a long time since Troy, Gabriella and Chad had eaten together in a restaurant.

The last time they had spent time together in a setting like this, had been three days before their High School graduation when the three of them plus Taylor McKessie had gone for dinner to celebrate.

"Can you believe it's been so long since we've done this? Man, High School seems like a million years ago." Chad's words trigger Gabriella's memories to begin to play in overdrive.

She began to remember all of the happy days she had shared with her friends; all of the sleepovers she, Taylor and Sharpay had had together, all of the secrets they had shared together.

All of a sudden she realized, even though she had Troy back in her life, her two once dear friends were slowly but surely disappearing from her life.

She seemed to drift off into blankness as she was consumed by her own thoughts, forgetting that there were three other people at the table wondering what on earth was wrong with her.

Still so absorbed in the thoughts that were running through her head, Gabriella didn't even realize that the waitress had arrived to take orders.

Thoughts were spinning through her mind at a thousand miles an hour, none of which showed any signs of slowing.

It wasn't until Troy nudged her gently with his elbow that she was brought swiftly back to reality.

"Baby, what do you want to eat?" Troy asked quietly, afraid that breaking her from her thoughts would cause some kind of emotional melt down; he had known Gabriella long enough to know that when she got that distant look on her face, she was thinking about something that was causing her grief.

Gabriella frowned for a second before looking up at the waitress smiling, hoping that no one else at the table had noticed her distant gaze.

"Spaghetti and meatballs would be lovely please." She replied sweetly before glancing at Troy and smiling happily.

She decided from that moment on that dwelling on the past for the rest of that evening would only cause problems. She quickly pushed all of the spinning thoughts to the back of her mind, allowing herself to be lost in the conversation being shared between the couples.

Main course passed without any further problems, conversation flowed freely as all four consumed fantastic food and drank expensive wine.

Both boys told funny and equally as embarrassing stories from their childhood that had both girls in hysterically laughing.

"You will never believe, in kindergarten we had those chairs with the holes in the back, Chad thought it would be funny to see if his head would fit through the whole. He managed it, only problem was, he couldn't get it out again. The school maintenance man had to cut the chair to get him out." Both Ellen and Gabriella once again burst into hysterical laughter as Troy recited a story that had remained hilariously funny right from the moment it happened up until now.

For Gabriella it was just a relief that the painful memories that had been haunting her since she had arrived in the restaurant had been replaced by ones of joy and hilarity.

"That was a low blow dude; I'll just have to tell Ellen all about the time that you had that sex dream about Vivienne Lopez in middle school. He was sleeping over after my dad had taken us to see a Redhawks game in like seventh grade. I woke up to hearing him moaning her name and grunting all weird, I had to roll him off the air mattress to get him to wake up. He tried so hard to hide his…excitement as he ran off into the bathroom but it was clear as day for all the world to see through his pajamas." Troy blushed as Chad finished his story, burying his face into Gabriella's shoulder, hoping that no one would see his mounting embarrassment.

Gabriella giggled as she wrapped an arm around Troy's face, bringing the other hand up to run through his silky smooth hair.

Even though the story was funny, she knew Troy would be embarrassed and worried that a story about him dreaming about another girl might hurt her feeling, even if it was before he knew she had ever existed.

"I think it's cute that you had a little middle school crush on this Vivienne. You don't need to be embarrassed, everyone has those kinds of dreams." Gabriella whispered softly into Troy's ear, removing her arm from around his shoulders and allowing him sit up straight so that he was once again facing Chad and Ellen.

Troy threw Chad a harsh stare as he regained his comfortable upright position on the booth seat he was sharing with Gabriella.

"I don't know why you're taking that so badly man, you and Gabriella were like the perfect fairytale couple in high school. I can tell her right now that I know for sure you've had more sex dreams about her than you ever had about Vivienne Lopez." Chad cheekily commented, not caring that the blush on his friends face intensified.

Chad's fleeting comment had sparked something in Gabriella, she hadn't thought much about when Troy disappeared in recent months but the memories of each one of those painful years tainted all thoughts of that time in her life.

She still firmly believed in her mind that she had something to do with why Troy ran away. No matter how much he had protested it, reminding her that she had been the only thing that had kept him from doing anything more drastic; the fear that he could just up and leave again remained firmly imprinted at the back of her mind.

She knew that she couldn't show her true emotions while they were still at dinner so, before anyone could notice a change in her face, out came the well practice smile that could fool even the best of mind readers.

Before they knew it dinner was over and both couples were making their way towards the door, mindful that they couldn't expect their parents to baby sit their children all night long.

"This has been such a fantastic evening; we'll have to do it again next time you're in town. You're here for another couple of week's right? You'll have to come over to the apartment for lunch or something." Gabriella suggested as she received another friendly goodbye hug from both Chad and Ellen.

Quickly, she scribbled down the address of their apartment, telephone and cell phone numbers and handed the paper to Ellen.

"That sounds lovely. I'll call you in a couple of days to arrange things, maybe we could talk babies. I could really use all the advice on offer right now." Ellen suggested as both couples made their way towards their cars.

With one final goodbye, the couples went their separate ways.

---

Troy and Gabriella had arrived back at their comfortable apartment not long after ten pm.

While Troy was busy settling Sofia, who had woken up on the ride back home from Grandma and Grandpa's, into her crib in the hope that she would then sleep through until morning, Gabriella decided it was time to lay the bad thoughts and feeling she was keeping to rest.

She quickly got changed into light pink plaid pajama pants and one of Troy's old grey wildcats shirts, and reached up to the top shelf of her closet to pull down a small box that was filled to the brim with bits and pieces.

She sat herself down comfortably on the bed, placing the box down in front of her and pulling out the first item.

It was a book that had been neatly bound in red leather, the gold writing on the front cover stuck out from the page making it more than easy to read through the thick layer of dust.

East High Senior Year Book.

Brushing off the dust, she opened the book carefully. She flicked through a few pages that were filled with people whose faces she remembered but whose names she couldn't place.

One page caught her eye. It was a page that had been filled with pictures of Troy and herself with the heading 'Most likely to get married after High School' written in red letters at the top.

Her finger tips brushed over the variety of pictures, some of the laughing together, some of the kissing, some of them dancing at junior prom and homecoming.

She set the book aside and pulled a photo album out of the box. It had been an album that her mother had put together as a graduation present.

Tears ran down her cheeks as she spotted a copy of the picture that had made a home for itself on the wall of the Bolton's hallway.

It had been taken on the day of graduation, Troy's forehead was leaning affectionately against Gabriella's, their smiles explaining their love in terms that were worth more than a thousand words.

How could he have seemed to happy, when in reality his mind was already planning his desperate escape.

Flipping the page Gabriella's eyes set upon an image that brought back more recent memories. The picture was of Gabriella and Sharpay, both dressed in their graduation gowns, hugging each other with tears in their eyes.

She remembered painfully her last encounter with her best friend just a few short days ago.

_Leaving the recreation center Gabriella pulled the blanket tightly around the baby that lay snuggled up in her stroller. _

_She had just come out of a session of mommy and baby swimming, an activity that both Gabriella and Sofia loved to take part in. _

"_Gabriella," she turned at the sound of her name, seeing once best friend Sharpay Evens running towards her as best she could in three inch heels. _

_She sighed, the last time she had seen Sharpay was soon after Troy returned and she had forced her to leave her apartment after abusing Troy as soon as she walked through the door. _

"_What do you want Sharpay?" Gabriella asked firmly, hoping it would be a short sharp apology that Sharpay wanted to give so that they could be on their way nice and quickly._

_Sharpay paused for a minute as she caught her breath, planning in her mind exactly what she was going to say and how she was going to say it._

"_I'm only looking out for you Gabriella; I can see what he's doing. He finds himself landed with this baby, so he comes back and finds you, gets close to you so that you can bond with said baby and then ups and leaves all over again." Sharpay spoke firmly as she aimed to get her point across as bluntly as possible so that her friend would see it the way that she did. _

"_That's not it at all Sharpay. Please, if you can't be happy for me, just stay out of my life." With that said, Gabriella left a somewhat shocked Sharpay standing alone outside the center door as she walked off in the direction of home._

Gabriella shuddered at the memory, she had told herself over and over that that was not what was going on, but as she looked down at the pictures of a boy she thought had always been happy, how could she be so sure?

Sharpay's words played over and over in her mind, getting louder and louder each time until she couldn't take hearing them any longer.

A choked sob shook from her body as her top half collapsed down against the bed in front of her, her head harshly hitting her feet with the quick movement.

How could she have been so stupid?

In Sofia's room Troy placed the sleeping baby into her crib gently. After endless singing of songs and telling of stories, she had finally drifted off into dream world.

He was just about to make his way to the bathroom when he heard Gabriella's sobs coming from their bedroom.

He ran the short distance between the rooms, fearing what he might find when he arrived.

As he entered the room, he spotted his crumpled girlfriend on the bed with high school memorabilia spread across the comforter, sobs racking through her body with every breath that she was taking.

"Baby? Gabriella? What's happened?" He asked quickly, walking over to her but too afraid to touch her broken body.

Gabriella sat up from the bed, allowing her eyes to drift up to meet Troy's. She knew that her makeup was running all the way down her cheeks but right at that moment she didn't care.

She needed to know the truth.

"Are you going to leave me again?" She whispered, fearing the response would be something that she never wanted to hear.

But words never came.

Instead she felt a pair of strong arms wrap tightly around her shoulders, as she was pulled upwards and held against his body.

"What's made you think that I would ever leave you? Ella, I thought we talked about this. I love you so much, what can I do to make you see that?" Gabriella allowed herself to sink deeper into Troy's arms as she let his words sink into her brain.

Taking a deep breath in, she composed herself just enough to be able to talk.

"I was just looking at old photographs and noticed how happy you looked, but you weren't were you. In every single one of these pictures you were sad, and I never even knew and Sharpay told me that your only here so that I get close enough to Sofia to look after her when you leave again." Troy frowned angrily, how dare someone as imbecilic as Sharpay but such a thought in Gabriella's mind, how dare she push her nose into the business of something she doesn't even know about.

He tightened his hold on Gabriella and placed a loving kiss against her temple.

"She couldn't be more wrong. God, if she knew what was going on in my head; she would never have said those awful things. Baby, in all of those pictures I am happy, because I was with you. Every day that I'm with you are the happiest days of my life. What can I say to make you see that you played no part in me leaving? What can I say to show you that it won't happen again?" His fingers brushed away the tears that were running furiously down Gabriella's cheeks.

She looked up into his eyes once again, before shrugging slowly and looking away again, diverting her sad eyes back down towards her hands.

"I don't know what you can say to make it better," her response was almost too quiet for Troy to hear, but as soon as he registered what she had said he knew what he had to do.

Moving her from his arms gently, he got up from the bed and walked towards his closet. Opening the door, he reached down and pulled open one of the draws that was fixed inside the spacious closet and pulled out a small item, shoving it in his pocked before Gabriella could see what it was.

"This isn't how I planned for this to happen, but I guess fate is working against me this time. I took the job with my dad all those months ago so that I could start saving, I spoke to him and told him that there was something really special that I needed to start saving for. Last month, I had finally saved all the money I needed to get it. I had this big speech planned in my head that I would tell you over a romantic dinner, but now just feels like the right time. This is for you." Troy spoke slowly and carefully, knowing that what he said now would either make or break his life.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box, handing it to Gabriella carefully.

She took hold of the box between her fingers, placing it down in the palm of her hand so that she could open it with ease.

She gasped as she lifted the lid, revealing a beautiful white gold diamond ring.

She looked up from the ring and once again met Troy's eyes, tears beginning to fall even faster as she considered what the next thirty seconds might bring.

"Go on," Gabriella prompted; desperate to hear from Troy had to say.

Taking hold of both of her hands, Troy continued his speech.

"There is not one day that goes by that I don't remind myself just how lucky I am that you took me back. Sometimes I watch you sleeping and can't believe how beautiful you are. I am so very sorry for all of the things I've put you through in the past, but I was kind of hoping that someday, you might accept this ring as acknowledgement that I don't ever want to be away from you again. Like I said, I had all of this planned out completely differently but, man here goes, Gabriella, baby, will you marry me?" Troy breathed an internal sigh of relief as soon as he managed to spit out the words that had been making me so incredibly nervous.

It took Gabriella a few seconds to realize that what was happening in front of her was real, it wasn't just some surreal dream that had been bred from her crazy thoughts, it was the real thing.

The love of her life had just proposed to her with the most heartfelt words she had ever heard.

"You've been planning this? And Jack knew this whole time?" The words that Gabriella spoke certainly weren't the ones that Troy was hoping for, but he knew that after the evenings events he had to give her time to sort through her emotions.

Tenderly brushing a loose curl from her face, he nodded slowly. He grasped her free hand with his tightly; bring their joined hands up to his lips so that he could press a tender kiss against her skin.

"He's known for months, I didn't imagine this was how I would ask but it feels like it was the perfect time. I totally understand if you need to think about it, I'm not going to up and leave just because you haven't given me an answer. I just wanted you to know that I wonna spend the rest of my life with you. You must be real tired, so I'll just grab my pillow and a blanket and head out into the living room, give you some room to think. Goodnight beautiful," Troy stood up from the bed slowly, pressing a kiss for her forehead as he made his way towards the spare closet to grab an extra pillow.

Gabriella smiled as Troy turned his back to her, reaching up to the top shelf of the closet for a pillow.

Just as he was about to leave the room, she finally let her thoughts spill from her mouth.

"Troy," she spoke quietly, waiting until he had fully turned around to face her before carrying on, "I've never wanted anything more than to spend my life with you." Her smile grew as she watched Troy's eyes grow wide with excitement.

He ran back towards her as quickly as he could, gathering her up in his arms as soon as he reached her and pressing a loving kiss against her lips.

"Is that a yes? You don't think it's too fast? I know I've only been back a few months but I never really feel like we broke up and I know there's no one else in the world that I'd rather be with," Troy gushed excitedly as he relished in the sound of Gabriella's infectious giggle.

"We agreed ages ago that we were starting from where we left off, still celebrating anniversaries just like before, and we agreed to forget that those five years ever happened. But you know what, I'm kind of glad they did, they made me realize how much you really mean to me. I never stopped loving you, it's definitely not too fast." Gabriella knew that she hadn't answered Troy's most important question, but she felt that needed to be said in separation of the three letter word she was dying to say.

Troy's mind remained frozen in the moment, desperate to hear whether she would accept his offer of becoming Mrs. Bolton or whether she just wanted to remain as they were.

He knew that he should have been able to work out her answer from what she had been saying for the last two minutes but he couldn't allow himself to feel the full sense of excitement until he had had real confirmation.

"So, is that a yes?" Troy asked again, hoping that this time Gabriella would answer simply, sealing the deal of the love that they share for one another and in turn throwing away all of the bad feelings and allowing them to float away into oblivion.

Gabriella couldn't hold it in much longer; another smile began to grow on her face as she took hold of Troy's hand.

"Yes." The most simple, yet amazing word ever created.

**Phew, I never thought I would ever finish this chapter. Don't forget to review, I worked exceptionally hard on this chapter so try and be nice =D. Thank you so much for reading.**


	10. Realizations

**Hey, I'm really glad that you guys liked the last chapter, I hope you like this one just as much. I wrote loads but then totally changed my mind about where I was taking it so started over, sorry that has taken so long but I'm sure everyone knows what it's like when school gets really busy. Don't forget to review.**

**So I have everything planned out for the next 6 chapters so hopefully I'll be able to focus a little better on what I am writing. Just an advanced warning, it's coming up to a really busy school time for me, I have exam study on the go so time to write is very short but hopefully there won't be too long between updates. I really am sorry that you're all having to wait for updates for so long but it means the world to mean that you still read my stories.**

**Enjoy!**

_There are more things to alarm us than to harm us, and we suffer more often in apprehension__ than reality. ~ _Seneca

Gabriella had never imagined her day to be anything other than normal. She had gone about her morning like it were any other, she had said goodbye to Troy and Sofia, picked up a quick breakfast from the local bakery before pulling her car into the lot to begin her long day at the free clinic.

Three hours had passed before her eyes as patient after patient came through the door, the big hand of the large clock on the wall had just reached twelve and Gabriella smiled a she realized it was finally time for a break.

Just as she was about to file the morning notes, the door to the office slammed open causing her to jump from her position at the cabinet to turn towards the door.

The man stood at the door was wearing dark ragged clothes, his features drawn and a strange smell of dirt and alcohol hung around his presence.

"Can I help you?" Gabriella politely asked the man, wondering whether he was a patient needing her service or a man who had simply lost his way.

He took a long step forwards towards her, clenching his fists and aggressively forcing his breath out from between his tight lips.

"Give me the drugs in that cupboard bitch," Gabriella took a shaky breath to try and calm herself, she had been trained for a moment like this for so long but as the man got closer to her everything she had learnt vanished from her mind.

She took a step back and instinctively turned her body away from him slightly, in a desperate attempt to protect herself she wrapped her arms tightly around herself and took another shaky breath.

"I'm really sorry but I can't do that, you know that I can't do that," her voice was weak as she calmly tried to reason with the angry drug addict that stood before her, she knew that her words wouldn't make him leave, but she hoped that by some kind of miracle that maybe he would go and try and get his fix elsewhere.

She gripped tighter to the keys that rested in the pocket of her scrubs, knowing that if she let go the man would grab them from her possession and take enough drugs from the cabinet to kill several people.

"Give me those keys and no one will get hurt," Gabriella's mind was no longer functioning, she cursed the opaque blinds that hung at the office windows and wished that someone would come in to grab something and discover the scene that was unfolding in front of her eyes, but every cell in her body knew that just wasn't going to happen.

She shook her head silently; her mind no longer able to form the words to convey to the man that she was not going to back down.

The man let out an angry growl, launching his body forwards to connect harshly with Gabriella's fragile frame.

Time slow almost to stand still before her eyes as she felt herself being thrown backwards, she closed her eyes fearful of what was to come deciding that if she was going to die she did not want the last thing she saw to be evil in its human form.

She felt her head connect forcefully with the heater that rested against the wall of the office, its metal frame cutting into her head and face as she slid down onto the floor.

She expected to feel pain but it never came, the only thing she felt was as searing numbness that rushed through her body.

She wondered if maybe this was what death felt like, rather than the glowing white light that is so often talked about; all she now believed it to be was the feeling of nothingness that was overcoming her.

Those were her last thoughts before her whole world turned black.

Troy had always enjoyed spending time alone but he had never imagined he would be spending time alone doing such domesticated things. Gabriella had left him a list of things that needed doing around the apartment and given that their moving in arrangement was that they share the house work, Troy decided to tackle the list as early as possible.

He had already cleaned the bathroom, changed the linen on their bed, damp dusted Sofia's bedroom and was currently trying his best to figure out how you are meant to vacuum underneath a couch.

As much as he never thought that he would, he enjoyed being able to do these things for Gabriella. Now that he was working with his father at East High there was less pressure on Gabriella to being in enough money to keep them going, but that didn't stop her working more than the average woman.

He had just discovered the nozzle detached from the vacuum when the loud sound of the phone ringing disturbed him from his great discovery.

"Hello?" He answered in a somewhat frustrated tone; he was doing so well in completing tasks on his list, the last thing he wanted was to be disturbed by someone wanting to sell him something or ask him whether he had adequate health insurance.

"_Is that Troy Bolton?" _The voice on the other end spoke calmly, Troy was puzzled he didn't recognize the voice but it did not sound like someone who was calling for his money.

"Yes speaking, who is this?"

"_This is Dr Connor Moore, attending physician in the emergency room at UNM medical center, I'm sorry to bother you but I have been asked to inform you that there was an incident involving Gabriella occurred today and we would like you to come down here," _Troy couldn't breathe, his mind could not understand the words that his ears had just heard.

Gabriella couldn't be hurt, his mind drifted to what he would do without her and all the things that he would need to do if she was gone.

Before the doctor on the end of the line could utter another word Troy slammed the phone down, abandoned the vacuum in its position by the couch, grabbed the car keys and ran out of the door.

He silently thanked god that his mom had offered to take Sofia for the day, he would never want their beautiful baby girl to be brought into a mess like the one he was anticipating.

Seconds after he had sped into the parking lot he was rushing through the automatic doors that led to the ER, his mind so full of thoughts that he couldn't find the words to identify himself to the lady at the desk.

"Troy!" A voice called from across the large department area, he turned his head to see one of the nurses that he knew to be one of Gabriella's work friends.

Without a second thought Troy rushed towards the young nurse, desperately fearing that she would lead him through the door to a scene worthy of something from a horror movie.

"What's happened? Where is she?" His words seemed desperate as he somewhat silently pleaded with the nurse to give him some answers; a part of him was desperate to know exactly what was going on but the rest of him was afraid of what might be revealed.

The nurse smiled sympathetically and opened the door behind her; she didn't say a word as she led Troy down a long corridor and showed him to the door of another room.

"She's just through there; you're free to go in when you're ready." She sent Troy another smile before turning and making her way back down the corridor and through the doors.

Did he really want to go in? What would he see when he finally plucked up the courage to enter the dark looking room?

Taking a deep breath he entered.

As he opened his eyes he spotted Gabriella lying down on a wide couch pressing a large dressing to the side of her head. Blood stained her face as well as the once light blue scrubs that she had put on that morning.

Another dressing had been taped tightly to her heavily swollen cheek with a bruise beginning to form across almost the entire left side of her face.

Troy could see she was in pain, her eyes were closed tightly and her face contorted, he wished desperately that he could take it all away from her.

"Baby?" He whispered quietly, observing as she opened her eyes slowly to smile at him.

Relief washed over him as the conformation that she was somewhat ok entered his brain, all of the thoughts of death could now be pushed from his mind allowing his mind to focus itself to find possible ways to make this whole situation go away.

"What happened beautiful?" He asked, reaching down gently to brush away a lose strand of blood soaked hair from her face. This was a scene he had never imagined he would see, the woman that he loved more than anything lying defenseless on a bed covered in blood that didn't show any signs of stopping.

Gabriella closed her eyes and remembered what had happened, she carefully considered what exactly to tell Troy, she knew that if she told him the whole truth he would never allow her to work there again but if she lied she knew he would somehow find out.

"Some crazy drug addict came in looking for morphine, he pushed me over to get the keys and I hit the heater on the wall. I have a pretty huge gash on my head and one to match on my cheek. They're gonna send me for a scan of my head just to be cautious and they stitch me back up again. It's really not a huge deal Troy." Her words were strained but confident; she didn't attempt to sit up, the pain in her head keeping her from having the strength to lift it off the bed.

Troy let out a dry chuckle, trust her to play to play the whole situation down to virtually nothing while to him it seemed like the world was crashing down around him.

It wasn't long before Gabriella was taken up for the scan, they had said it would be ok for Troy to go with her but he had just needed to take that time to get his head around what was happened.

He had taken a walk in the hospitals peace garden and sat down on a bench clearing his thoughts, he wasnt sure exactely what you were supposed to think in a situation like this but all he wanted was for everything to be ok.

Before he knew it Gabriella was being brought back into the room followed by mature looking doctor.

"How did it go?" Troy asked, hopefully that the results had already come through and that everything would be okay so that they would just go home and rest.

The doctor smiled before opening a large cupboard in the corner of the room pulling out various instruments and equipment and placing it all on a trolley.

"The scan was absolutely fine. Okay Gabriella, I'm going to take a look at that gash on your head and fix it up with some staples and probably put a couple of stitches in your cheek, is that alright?" Gabriella nodded as the doctor spoke slowly before suiting himself up in a plastic apron and gloves.

He began to move the dressing from her head and started to have a close look at the wound. Gabriella looked over and Troy and smiled slightly, she knew he had never been a fan of blood and she was sure the fact that the blood was coming from her probably made it worse.

"Are you sure you don't want to wait outside babe?" Troy shook his head and made his way over to where Gabriella was sitting. He took hold of her hand tightly bringing it up to his lips and kissing it reassuringly.

He hated blood, the sight of it made him feel sick but he knew that he had to be there for Gabriella. He knew that what she was about to experience would be painful, even with local anesthetic, and he didn't dare leave her to suffer the pain alone.

It was finally time for the kind looking doctor to put her back together again.

Gabriella had never been more thankful to see the inside of the apartment that she shared with Troy. During her frightening ordeal she had never imagined that she would ever see home again.

"Why don't you go and lay down for a while?" Troy suggested as he carried Gabriella's work bag into the house and placed it down on the couch.

Gabriella looked around her, she noticed that vacuuming was half done, Sofia's toys were all over the floor and dishes from breakfast were still in the sink waiting to be loaded into the dish washer.

She sighed to herself, she wasn't mad at Troy for not completing his list of chores, after all she had given him all day to do so and the emergency call to the hospital had cut into this time, but she did wish that she could just make it all go away.

"You're gonna need help getting your list of chores done, why don't I go load the dishwasher and pick up Sofia from you moms while you finish the vacuuming?" she suggested, slipping her feet out of her pale blue work clogs and into her more comfortable everyday shoes.

Troy swiftly moved from his position and snatched Gabriella's shoe from her reach, he looked at her with raised eyebrows as if to ask if she was crazy.

"Do you really think I'd let you walk out of this house, get in a car and drive all the way to my parents house and back with our baby daughter? You've had a nasty bang on your head Gabriella, you need to rest. Go and take a nice warm bath, get into some comfortable clothes and I will go and pick up Sofia, agreed?" Gabriella sighed knowing that she was defeated, there was no way she could win this battle and she knew it.

Slipping her foot out of her shoe she made her way towards the bedroom, pulling the scrub top that had been wearing all morning gently over her swollen face.

It had been the kind of day that you see on dramatic shows like ER and Gray's anatomy, not the kind of day that regular people live through.

As she sat down gently on the bed Gabriella struggled to get her head around the idea of what had happened. She wasn't naive to the fact that there were millions of people in the world with serious drug problems but she had just never assumed that anybody in the world would be so violent to get what they wanted.

Quietly she wondered to herself, would she ever have the confidence to run the clinic that she loved so much, not knowing who was coming through the door and when.

"Come on Gabriella, pull yourself together." She whispered to herself as she pulled on her track pants and made her way into the bathroom.

She looked at herself in the mirror and observed the two neat stitches that lay on the soft skin of her cheek. As she delicately rinsed the dry blood from her cheek she silently praised her decision to opt out of dissolvable stitches that would have prevented her from removing the remnants of the day's traumatic events.

Troy had suggested she take a bath but she wasn't sure she possessed the energy required to bathe alone. The doctor had closed the large gash on her head with ten clips which Gabriella knew from experience worked best if kept dry for as long as possible but no harm would be done if they did get wet.

She snuggled herself under the softness of the large comforter that covered their bed. She breathed in the soothing smell of Troy as she closed her eyes and began to fall asleep.

That shower would just have to wait.

Troy pulled up to the home of his parents knowing that he would have to tell them about the mornings events. He had realized that since the death of her mother his parents had become very protective of Gabriella, he wasn't sure how they would react.

"We weren't expecting you until later; I thought you were coming to pick up Sofia after you collected Gabriella from work…" Lucille Bolton had spotted her son and almost daughter-in-law's black Mazda CX-9 as it pulled into the drive way and had been curious as to why Troy had returned so soon.

She had rushed out of the door and onto the driveway before Troy even had a chance to get himself fully from the car.

"Yeah…some crazy drug addict came into free clinic looking for drugs, Gabriella refused to give him the keys to the cupboard and as he went for them he knocked into her and she fell. It's not like he meant to attack her or anything but you know…she's had a few stitches and a few staples in her head but she's at home sleeping. I thought I'd pick Sofia up early, it comforts Gabriella to have her there." Lucille was shocked at the revelation of the morning's events; she couldn't believe that Gabriella had been injured in such a way.

She ushered Troy into the house and began to collect up Sofia's thing, she was silently thankful that Jack was playing golf with some old college friends and not around to hear what had happened first hand.

He was very protective of Gabriella and for many years considered her like a daughter to him. He had been furious when numerous dates in college hadn't worked out as she hoped and had always been there for her as a shoulder to cry on in Troy lengthy absence.

He would definitely be mad about this one.

"She's had her lunch, she managed all of the vegetables Gabriella mashed and sent and I managed to get her to try a little mashed up fish so we're doing well, isn't that right princess?" Lucille lifted Sofia up above her head and brought her down slowly, kissing her on the nose as their faces grew closer. "She also had half a bottle but she'd done so well with her solids, I think she filled herself up too quickly." Lucille chuckled as she handed the baby over to Troy, admiring the bond father and daughter shared.

She had also developed a special bond with her granddaughter, while Troy was away she had begun to accept that she may never get the chance to have grandparents and although it hurt her to listen to all of her friends discussing all of the things their grandchildren were doing, she was somewhat at peace knowing that maybe one day she could help be grandparent to Gabriella's children.

"Thanks mom, you're amazing. You do so much for us, with taking care of her whenever we need you to, I don't feel like we do enough for you in return." Troy had been thinking a lot about family recently and how important it was that there were people around him that were supportive and loving.

Lucille smiled at her son and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"You just take care of Gabriella; we'll call and check in later. Let us know if you need anything." With that Lucille ushered her son and granddaughter out of the house, helped Troy strap Sofia into the car and hurried back into the house.

Just as he was about to start the car Troy was disturbed by the sharp ringing of his cell phone. He pulled it from his pocked and stared at the screen for a second.

_Unknown caller_

He didn't usually answer unknown caller calls, he had always stated that he didn't have any time for people trying to sell him windows or offering expensive help with debt, but there was something about this call that told him he needed to answer.

"Hello?" He answered cautiously unsure of the response he would get from the caller on the other end of the line.

"_Troy, listen it's Sharpay, please don't hang up! I heard what happened to Gabriella and there are some things I really need to say and some stuff you really need to see. Can you meet me for coffee in like ten minutes?" _Sharpay's frantic voice filled his ears as he listened carefully to her request. He wasn't sure where she had gotten his number from but right then he wasn't bothered, he was more curious to know what she was so desperate for him to know.

"Uh yeah sure, I can be at the Starbucks on Central Avenue in ten minutes. I have Sofia though, is that ok?" Troy replied quickly, he wasn't sure what he was getting himself into but he was sure whatever it was must have been important or Sharpay would still be talking to him like he was a waste of oxygen.

"_Perfect, I'll meet you there." _With that she hung up.

Troy pushed Sofia's large pink stroller through the door of the Central Avenue Starbucks, his eyes wondered around the room in search of the blonde woman who had summoned him to what imagined could be his death sentence.

He spotted a lone Sharpay sitting in a corner booth sipping on a skinny dark cherry mocha.

"Sharpay," he spoke quietly, his hostility towards her preventing him from offering up a more pleasant greeting.

The way she had spoken to Gabriella months before had left him with sour memories of Sharpay and her horrible attitude. She had poisoned Gabriella's mind with ideas that he would leave and had almost cost him his perfect relationship.

She was definitely not somebody he wanted to associate himself with for longer than required.

"Thanks for coming Troy, I just…I'm sorry for how I acted before but I wanted to be sure that you coming back wasn't going to push Gabriella over the edge again. Back then I really thought she was going to die and I just couldn't see her go through that again" Sharpay's words were laced with the guilt she felt for pushing Gabriella so far away.

She handed a box to Troy, watching closely as he opened it and examined the contents.

Photographs, letters, diary entries and random artifacts filled the box and as Troy rifled through he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He knew things had been difficult for Gabriella after he had gone, but he never knew it had been this bad.

His eyes focused on the picture that was grasped between his thumb and first finger.

It was a picture of Gabriella sitting in a hospital bed; if he hadn't of known better he would have been sure it was somebody else. He had never imagined Gabriella could get any smaller than she was now, but the item in front of him proved that thought wrong.

Her skin hung from her tiny frame, allowing the bones of her body to become painfully visible.

He had wanted her to carry on with his life, to meet the man of her dreams, get married and have beautiful children.

But his wishes had never been fulfilled.

As he stared down at the picture he realized, his actions could have killed her, she had been so depress, so alone without him that she physically couldn't function.

"I know this must be a lot for you to take in Troy, but you had to see these things. I just need to know that you'll take care of her." Troy's glare softened as he took in Sharpay's words, she had never been one to come across as vulnerable but at that moment her pleas for reassurance sounded loudly in his head.

Gently he put the photographs and other items back into the box, closing the lid tightly before handing it back to Sharpay.

"It will be like I was never gone," Troy didn't feel the need to extend their conversation further, he collected himself together before getting up from his chair and walking slowly from the café towards the car.

In his mind he was thinking what would happen when he got home, would he look at Gabriella differently after seeing her like that? Or would his love and need to protect her grow, either way he decided it was best that his short meeting with Sharpay remain untold.

He pulled into the parking lot of one of Gabriella's favorites restaurants to pick up dinner; there was no way that he was letting her make a meal after the day she had had and there was no way he was cooking and adding food poisoning to her list of problems.

Troy had never been much of a chef; the odd sandwich here and there was about as much as he could manage. He had become better while he had been away fending for himself but there was nothing like Gabriella's cooking after a long stressful day.

It didn't take him long to load Sofia and the food back into the car and make his way back to the comfortable apartment that he had called home for a while now.

He was sure Gabriella would still be asleep after her traumatic day, so quietly he put Sofia gently into her crib and moved to the kitchen to plate up the wonderful dinner he had purchased for Gabriella.

The smell of delicious foods drifted into Gabriella nostrils as she began to wake from her deep sleep. Confusion laced her face as she tried to figure out where the smell was coming from, she had definitely not started dinner before she had fallen asleep and there was no way Troy could cook anything that smelt that good.

Slowly she wondered down the corridor, her nose directing her to the source of the delicious scent.

As she approached the living/dining room she spotted Troy lighting a candle on the small table that adorned the small dining area of the apartment's main room.

On the table she spotted masses of food that were easily recognizable as the comfort foods that's he loved to eat.

"What's all this?" Gabriella asked quietly as Troy finished lighting the candles, he hadn't expected her to wake up on her own and had kind of been looking forward to walking into their bedroom, kissing her and being the first thing she saw when she woke from her semi drug induced daze.

Her hair was unbrushed, her track pants and t-shirt wrinkled and her face still swollen from the trauma but Troy still thought of her as the most beautiful girl in the world.

"Dinner, Cincinnati Chili, hot buffalo chicken wings, barbeque baby back ribs and cheese fries. Just thought that you could do with cheering up and I know you love all these things so I thought why not you know," Gabriella smiled as Troy listed the foods he had purchased, she knew that she had put so much thought into this that there would be no way she could say no even if she had wanted to.

She padded slowly across the room to wrap her arms tightly around Troy's waist, he was so good to her and it was at times like these that she really realized how much he meant to her.

"Let's eat before it gets cold," she spoke quietly, sitting herself down at the table and beginning to put various items of food onto her plate.

Dinner had past quietly without drama or conversation as Troy and Gabriella devoured the delicious food that sat before them.

Troy had felt tension build up inside of him as he thought of the day's events and how they would affect the future; he had always been an over-thinker and was definitely over analyzing the events of the day.

He and Gabriella had settled down onto the couch, snuggled up closely together as a movie played in the background.

He felt now was the time to broach the subject that had been playing on his mind. He knew she wouldn't like what he was about to say, she loved what she did but his protective side was beginning to take over.

He would just have to get it over with.

"Baby, I really don't think you should be running clinic anymore."

**So there it is! I'm so sorry that you waited for so long and I really hope you won't have to wait for that long again. I would like to ask one thing of you all, I really enjoy writing but I want to be able to write something that you all love reading not just something that I love writing so if you have any ideas that you would like to put forward please feel free to PM me or put it in a review. I hope that you enjoy this chapter, let me know what you think. **


	11. Motherhood

**Well…I was kind of disappointed about the number of reviews for the last chapter. I'll never be all 'I won't updated until you review loads' but I would like to know people feedback, how can I write something you want to read if you're not telling me what you think. Anyway rant over, thank you so much to all of you that did review! Hope you all enjoy this new chapter.**

-TG-

_However motherhood comes to you, it's a miracle – _Valarie Harper

-TG-

Two tense days had passed since Troy had aired his opinions of her working at the free clinic. Gabriella had never been one to believe in the silent treatment to prove a point, but her career was something she was passionate about…it was something she would never let anybody dictate to her.

Troy had known Gabriella long enough to know that her icy attitude towards him wouldn't last. He hoped that at some point in the new couple of days she would come to reason and sit down so that they could talk out their issues.

Pulling open the bathroom door Troy observed Gabriella sat on the edge of the bed. An eight month old Sofia was sitting happily next to her playing with some toys while Gabriella picked nervously at the skin of her fingertips.

Troy sighed; perhaps he would have to make the first move.

"What's on your mind beautiful?" These had been the only words they had exchanged in the last two days, excluding the require pleasantries such as 'dinners ready' and 'stay asleep I'll get the baby'.

This time it was Gabriella who sighed heavily, she knew that she needed to release the anger she was feeling towards Troy, but she also knew the rational side of her telling her that she was completely overreacting.

She looked up from her fingers and forced her eyes to meet with the ocean blue eyes of her fiancé.

"I just think you're being completely unreasonable expecting me to quit my job in both clinics and look for another one. Nursing jobs don't grow on trees Troy, I've worked so hard building those clinics and all of my patients trust me, do you have any idea how hard that is to achieve?" Gabriella paused her frustration filled ramblings, thinking that would be a good time to allow Troy to air his views.

Troy picked up Sofia and her toys and took her into her nursery, the last thing he wanted was for her to hear and sense the tension between him and Gabriella that crowded the room.

He made his way back to the bedroom with his eyes closed taking deep breaths as he spoke, he didn't want this to get heated but he knew how passionate Gabriella could be about the things she loved doing.

"Look Gabriella, I understand where you coming from but it's just not safe. You could have been killed Gabriella, do you appreciate that? Why can't you just get a job where you safely in one department with no one just turning up off the street?" Anger boiled within Gabriella's veins, the feelings of love she felt towards Troy quickly turned into feelings of frustration and disgust.

She paced backwards and forwards across the room a couple of time, trying her best to build a response that wouldn't make this whole messy situation worse.

She came up with nothing.

"How can you possibly understand? What was the last thing you were passionate about Troy? Basketball? Which team won the baseball game? How can you possibly understand how I feel about my job? There are hundreds of people living here who cannot afford medical treatment; I help those people Troy…that's important to me, why is it that you just can't respect that?" Gabriella snapped angrily, focusing her attention on slamming the closet door as she pulled out the clothes she would be wearing for the day.

Troy had never been an openly angry man; he very rarely shouted, he hardly ever snapped and he was never ever physically violent. But today, all three of those bad traits seemed like the only ways to catch Gabriella's serious attention and make her see sense.

Allowing his anger to control him he slammed his fists against the closet and looked deep into Gabriella's now frightened eyes.

"I'm passionate about you Gabriella, about Sofia, about making both of you happy. So help me God if I'm going to stand here and let you do a job that could mean one day you never come home because you just couldn't curb you desperate need to prove something to everyone by helping people who have got nothing…I'm going to work." Gabriella was shocked at his words, he had never walked out on a fight with her before and the new foreign feeling of being left without resolve unsettled her.

Quickly she rushed through the apartment hoping desperately to catch Troy before he left; if there was one thing she had learnt over the years it was to never ever leave an argument unsolved.

"Troy, wait please? Troy come on…" He was seemingly ignoring her desperate pleas for two more minutes of civilized conversation; he had worked himself up far too much to be able to resolve the ongoing argument that had clearly been brewing under his skin since Gabriella had first been attacked.

Without as much as an 'I love you' Troy left the apartment.

-TG-

Gabriella found herself sitting on the couch thinking over what had happened that morning. She understood why Troy had the opinions he had, but she needed him to understand how much she loved running clinic.

"You're just going to have to find something else you love Gabriella," she spoke to herself quietly as she flicked on the laptop and began to search nursing websites for potential jobs.

Gabriella opened up the website, entered her qualifications and waited patiently for jobs to appear

'_Registered nurse required for internal medicine'_ Gabriella sighed, that didn't sound like the type of job that she could see herself doing…

"Registered nurse required for a busy Emergency Room in downtown Albuquerque…Like Daddy would let me do that, right Princess" Gabriella spoke to her daughter as she picked her up and placed her against her shoulder.

The eight month old toddler snuggled into Gabriella's neck, lifting up her thumb to suck on it firmly…a new habit that Troy and Gabriella hoped to eradicate very soon.

Gabriella scrolled down the page further and allowed her eyes to glance over the listings.

'_Experienced RN required for a family orientated Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) within UNM Children's hospital. We are a friendly team and we are very much looking forward to reading all of your applications.' _Gabriella read the job summery and smiled, NICU had never been something she had imagined she would do, but as she read the summery and opened up the main job page she was beginning to feel like this might be something she could learn to love.

"Well the money is better…what do you think Princess? Should I apply?" Gabriella looked down at the settled baby girl on her shoulder, laughing at herself for imagining her not even one year old daughter would be able to give an insight into what she should do with her career.

Clicking apply and filling out her details Gabriella remained nervous, the job she currently had had been the job she had done straight out of college. She had never branched out from her comfort zone before; this was definitely a big step.

Attaching a copy of her résumé and checking over her personal details Gabriella clicked send.

Perhaps now was the right time for a fresh start.

"Well that's that done then, you think Daddy will be happy? Hopefully he's in a better mood when he comes home from work. You know what else we have to do today little Sofia? We've got to find you a daycare!" She smiled as she lifted Sofia above her head and moved their faces together slowly, kissing the babies face and caused her to erupt in hilarious giggles.

Although Gabriella was still recovering from her traumatic injuries she had decided, with Troy of course, that she would use the time off to find a daycare for Sofia.

Jack and Lucille had been unconditionally supportive in caring for their granddaughter, but both Troy and Gabriella felt that not only was it unfair to expect Jack and Lucile to care for her 5 days a week but it was time for Sofia to socialize with other children and experience new things.

After what seemed like hours filled with searching websites, reading reviews and making telephone enquiries, Gabriella had narrowed the list of possible daycares down to just four.

The agreement between Troy and Gabriella had been that she would search the internet, suggest some daycares to Troy, he would call them and whoever had a place for Sofia would be the one. But Gabriella just had to check them out, she had to see how the other children were cared for, what the facilities were like and how clean they were before allowing them to care for her daughter.

They promptly arrived at the first daycare; it was small and family run just outside of the city at the foot of the Sandia Mountains. Gabriella couldn't deny that it was in a beautiful setting and the surrounding grounds were fantastic.

The website explained that it had once been a farm and following the unexpected death of her husband, her principle farmer, Alanna Reed had transformed the property into an innovative daycare with a huge adventure playground, fruit and vegetables patches and a small number of animals for the children to interact with.

Gabriella lifted Sofia from the car and made her way through the parking lot into the reception area.

It was as beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside.

"Hey, I'm Gabriella Montez; I called earlier about looking around with my daughter Sofia?" The lady behind the desk smiled and nodded, ushering Gabriella into the main room of the daycare that was filled with staff and happy looking children.

"My name is Alanna; I'm the owner and manager. This is the main room where children of all ages play together; we also have separate rooms for different age groups for lunches and naps and I'm sure you've seen our outdoor facilities." The middle aged lady showed Gabriella the various rooms and allowed Gabriella to explore the facilities.

After the tour Gabriella thanked Alanna for her time and collected the information pack from the reception desk, just as she was about to leave Alanna called her back.

"Sorry to keep you Gabriella, I forgot to give you these forms. We would love to have Sofia but you need to fill in these forms and return them to us if you decide you would like to send her here, we will hold her place until we hear from you." Gabriella smiled at the lady, she had been nothing but helpful since her arrival and had gone out of her way to make sure Gabriella was informed about the daycares procedures.

Taking the papers Gabriella thanked her and rushed to the car, keen to get the other three daycares seen before Troy returned home from work at 4:30.

It was already 1pm.

Gabriella pulled into the final daycare at 2:45pm; it was the polar opposite of the first daycare they have visited.

The building was nestled in amongst the bustle of downtown Albuquerque with just a small outdoor play area for the children to use.

Gabriella made her way into the reception area and was greeted by an older woman with curly grey hair and show through into a small room filled with babies.

"This is our baby room, this is where Sofia would be until she reached two years old, she would then move on into our toddler room until she was three and then would move into the pre-school room," the woman, who never offered Gabriella her name, handed her some paperwork and showed her the forms that would need to be filled in.

The visit was swift, with such a little area to view Gabriella need not explore, she could see most of the daycare standing in her one spot in reception.

She knew that the decision wasn't hers, but she hoped that Troy would pick the first daycare. The following three were all inner city and there was just not the freedom available like there was at the first.

Gabriella had forgotten the events of the morning, as she arrived home she remembered the frustrated shouting and how Troy had left without as much as a proper goodbye.

She began to fear his return, she knew that he would never be violent but the thought of him still being in such a horrible mood when her spirits had lifted put a huge damper of the successful day that she had had.

Like clockwork as soon as 4:30 came around Troy opened the door and slipped off his shoes. He too had been concerned about his return and was worried he would be received with a frosty welcome from Gabriella.

He wondered into the living room to see Gabriella, with Sofia nestled into her side, surrounded by paperwork.

"Hey," he spoke quietly, hoping that his calm tone would prevent her from snapping like they had both done that morning.

Gabriella turned around, a small smile gracing her face. She stood up from her position slowly, placing Sofia down gently on the couch, and made her way over to Troy.

"I'm sorry, you were right this morning and I should have listened to what you have to say. I uh…applied for another job today and if I don't get that one I'll just keep trying. When I'm back to work, I'll tell them I'm leaving and hand over clinic to somebody else." Troy was shocked at Gabriella's revelation, he had expected her to still be bitter to still be strong about the fact she loved the job that she did now.

He had not expected to come home to this.

"Whoa Babe, what made you change your mind?" Troy wrapped his arm around Gabriella waist, pulling her body close to his and nestling his face against her beautifully thick hair.

Gabriella sighed, she wasn't entirely sure what had caused her to finally make the decision to give up clinic, and she knew it had a lot to do with family but she wondered if maybe it was the right time for a change of scenery.

"I knew that if I kept on with what I was doing, we would just drift apart and that's not what I want. I love my job but I love you more, and I realized that I could still love my job while doing something different. I've applied for a job in the NICU at the children's hospital." Troy smiled, he could imagine Gabriella doing a job just like that but he was still overwhelmed that his words had affected her so much.

He leant down and kissed her lips gently, the kiss was not one of intense passion or need but one of love and adoration.

"I love you beautiful," he smiled down at her before looking up and at the paperwork that once surrounded her, "What have you been up to today?" He asked curiously, he realized he left that morning without really asking what she would be doing with her day.

Gabriella led Troy into the living room, pushing him slightly so that he was sitting down on the couch next to Sofia.

She gathered up all of the papers into four separate piles, Troy frowned at her swift movements and wondered what on earth she had been up to.

"We looked up some daycares today, but don't get mad again ok? I narrow the list down to four and we went to visit them…" Gabriella proceeded cautiously, knowing that Troy had not wanted her to leave the house until she was fully recovered from her painful injuries.

Troy frowned and sighed, he should have known better than to expect Gabriella to stay inside at someone else's request, she had always been headstrong.

"I'm not mad, disappointed yes but not mad. Did you enroll her?" Troy asked, he assumed that if Gabriella had visited with Sofia she would have automatically enrolled Sofia in the daycare that seemed appropriate.

Gabriella looked down at her hands, playing with her fingers and hoping that Troy would just move on from a subject that was difficult for her.

But the silence continued, Gabriella knew that she would now have to share with Troy the thoughts that had been plaguing her for weeks.

"I uh…I couldn't enroll her. A parent or a legal guardian has to fill in the forms so I just brought them home. You have to fill them in Troy; I couldn't make that decision for you anyway. I have no right to make such a big decision without you." Gabriella replied quietly, she had never aired these feelings of disappointment that Sofia was not her child with him before, Troy had no idea she was still feeling this way.

Checking that Sofia was still safely nestled into the couch, Troy pulled Gabriella so that she was sitting firmly in his lap, his face just inches away from hers.

"Gabriella, I want you to make this decision. You've seen these places, spoken to the people, so what if you aren't her mother on paper yet? To me…to her you're her mother Gabriella, and you have just as much right to make big decisions as I do. I want you to show me all of that information and we're going to make this decision together, as her parents." Gabriella smiled and grabbed hold of all the information she had collected and began explaining each daycare to Troy.

Troy grinned as he listened to Gabriella chatter away about what she had read, seen, loved and hated. It was clear which of the facilities she was learning towards and if Troy was honest, after he had heard about the first one the rest didn't seem to matter.

He couldn't believe how life was turning out.

When he had returned to Albuquerque with Sofia he hadn't imagined his parents would accept him back, let alone Gabriella. He hadn't known if she was still in town or if she had moved away and was living her life just as she hoped that she would.

But now, he was glad she hadn't. As much as it pained him to see what she went through, he was selfishly thankful that she accepted him back into her arms so that they could carry on their lives together.

"Troy? Are you even listening to me?" Gabriella giggled as she stared onto Troy's vacant eyes, her sweet voice broke his trance and he was snapped back into the reality of daycare providers and future planning.

He pulled Gabriella closer and placed a loving kiss against her lips, silencing her random rambles about why one daycare was so obviously better than another.

"You don't need to keep talking Babe, I agree with you. I loved the first one and I think that's where she should go," Gabriella smiled and hugged Troy tightly, enjoying the feelings of love and adoration that washed over her as Troy placed loving kisses against her face.

It meant a lot to Gabriella that Troy valued her opinions when it came to Sofia, no matter how often Troy insisted that her opinions were of no lesser value to his the knowledge that she was not Sofia's mother, biologically or legally plagued her mind.

Troy sensed a change in Gabriella's features, her eyes darkened a shade and her brow turned down into a frown very slightly.

It didn't take a genius to guess what was troubling her.

"Ella, baby? Is this whole mom thing still bothering you? I've told you before, to everyone that knows us she's your baby girl. Why is this suddenly bothering you so much?" Gabriella looked down at her feet, playing with the hem of Troy's shirt between her thumb and first finger.

She had hoped he wouldn't notice her slight change in mood, but she should have realized he knew he too well for her to keep even the smallest expression a secret.

Since being attacked at work her thoughts almost constantly remained on the fear of waking up again to find that Troy was gone. She knew he would never run but how could she possibly know there wouldn't be some kind of terrible accident that would take him from her for good.

She knew her mind was irrational, it always had been, but she just couldn't push past the feelings.

"It's bothering me because if anything happened to you…they would take her away from me. To the authorities Troy I'm nobody, it doesn't matter what our friends and family know or think they know…they would take her away from me." Gabriella leant back against the couch, reaching for Sofia and pulling her to her chest as if someone was coming to take her away right now.

There had been a lot of fears aired between Troy and Gabriella over the last seven months, but this had never been one of them. The thoughts of being gone hadn't even crossed Troy's mind, but they had evidently crossed Gabriella's.

He knew something had to be done.

"Baby, I'd never let them take her from you." He whispered as he pulled Gabriella closer to him and wrapping his arms around her waist so that Sofia was safely nestled between the two of them.

He knew his words wouldn't be enough, but it was the best he could do. They had been through this before, even as teenagers Gabriella had seemingly irrational fears that just couldn't be settled.

Looking down he watched as Gabriella snuggled herself deeper into his body, adjusting the ever growing baby so she too was resting against Troy's protective chest.

Suddenly a thought struck his mind.

"Will you adopt Sofia after we get married?" Gabriella remained still for a second, digesting the words that Troy had thrown out there without really thinking.

In her mind it seemed to make sense, she and Troy would be married why not adopt the baby they seemingly shared together. It wasn't something she had ever thought about before, evidently Troy hadn't thought about it before either, was he really serious?

"Are you sure?" Gabriella asked puzzled, she needed to know that it wasn't just a split second thought to try and lighten the mood, if she was going to commit her heart to this she needed to know he was completely serious.

As soon as Troy had put the thought out there he knew he was sure, he couldn't believe he hadn't thought about it before. It would finally make them a proper family.

"Of course I'm sure, we're going to have more babies together Gabriella, don't you think it makes sense? You'd never have to worry about them taking her away from you again." Gabriella smiled, she could finally allow her heart to commit to the huge offer Troy had placed on the table.

She leaned up and kissed his lips lightly, savoring the moment before pulling away and kissing the end of Sofia's button nose.

"I would love nothing more than to do that Troy."

-TG-

Later that evening Gabriella was sat on the floor surrounded by the paperwork of daily life. Troy was busy cooking dinner and Sofia was lying happily on her tummy playing with her favorite texture toy.

Troy had been concerned that Sofia was yet to crawl, but Gabriella wasn't too bothered. She knew some babies never did it at all and knowing how headstrong Sofia had grown to become if she was going to do it, it would never be to anyone else's schedule.

Gabriella closed her eyes and inhaled the wonderful scent of spaghetti filling the apartment. She hated the monthly paperwork clear outs but it just had to be done…the sooner she got stuck in the sooner it would be over.

Opening her eyes she giggled at Sofia's wordless babbling, the cute sounds of her chattering away to whoever it was never failed to bring a huge smile to her face. She couldn't believe the tiny baby that she first met was growing into such a strong, intelligent beauty.

After admiring her daughter for several more minutes, Gabriella looked back down into her lap at the huge pile of bills that were just asking to be sorted.

"Come on Gabriella, focus! The quicker you to it, the quicker you can eat dinner and snuggle!" She giggled to herself again, very much looking forward to the rest of the evenings events that she was sure would include huge amounts of snuggling.

Suddenly Gabriella felt a small weight snuggling into her side.

They definitely didn't have a cat or a dog and Troy was still working away in the kitchen.

Looking down she spotted Sofia, sucking her thumb sleepily and desperately snuggling into the accessible lap of the woman who was most definitely her mother.

Suddenly paperwork was not important anymore, the bills would come every month but this moment would never be coming again.

"Oh my god, you did it! You got all the way here on your own! Baby girl!" Gabriella snuggled her face into Sofia's chubby baby neck, the pride she was feeling was not comparable to anything she had felt before.

No one would be taking her baby girl away from her…not now and not ever.

**Phew finally finished, I was gonna leave you with another cliffhanger but I decided to give you a little love instead haha! Please please please review, I've worked my butt off managing this chapter and school work and it's currently 03:15 in the morning! So I'd really like for you to drop me some love and let me know what you thought of the chapter! Hope you enjoyed it!**


	12. One Step Forwards Two Steps Back

**Updates will soon become few and far between, I just felt like I should forewarn you. I am about to begin writing my thesis and have two other school assignments to write this year. I hope you understand this and stick with me. Finally, I once again was very disappointed in the amount of reviews for the last chapter, if you read or your add to your alert list please try and review also it really does only take a second. **

_The most precious possession that comes to a man in this world is a woman's heart. - _J.G Holland

~TG~

Troy shivered as he crossed the grass outside of the large apartment complex that he called home. The cold April weather caused a late frost to rest against the grass, crisping and crunching as Troy made his way to the door.

It wasn't unusual for a frost to fall at this time of year; Troy had left prepared for the mornings chilly temperatures.

Going for a run every morning had been a routine that Troy had kept up since he was a teenager, however since having a baby the early mornings had become overtaken with feeds, diaper changes and getting every last second of sleep possible.

But today was different, for the first time in almost 9 months his early morning was free. Sofia had, much to Troy and Gabriella's relief, finally started to sleep through the whole night.

After spending relentless hours comforting her cries in the early hours, Troy and Gabriella finally decided to take her to see the pediatrician. They had managed to see a sleep specialist who recommended tips to get her into a comfortable long sleep, the top of which was not allowed Sofia to fall asleep in Gabriella arms.

A habit both mother and baby had become accustomed to.

As Troy approached the apartment door he smiled, it excited him to think that behind the door was the woman of his dreams and the baby girl that they shared together. He had never imagined he would still feel that way after so long.

He knew that Gabriella and Sofia would not yet be awake. The red numbers of the microwave clock read 7:00am, just in time to put on coffee in anticipation of Gabriella's sleepy form making her way towards the kitchen.

As if by clockwork Gabriella wondered sleepily into the kitchen, wrapping her arms tightly around a chilly Troy and snuggling herself into his body. She had been suffering a nasty spring cold for the last five days; it had surprised her when a usually protective Troy had left her to wake up alone.

"Where have you been? When I woke up this morning you were gone," Gabriella croaked, her voice hoarse from sleep and sickness. Troy wrapped his arms comfortably around her, it was unusual that he left Gabriella's side while she was sick but he had to seize the running opportunity with both hands.

He placed a loving kiss against her sweet smelling hair before handing her a steaming cup of coffee.

"I just went for a quick run, is that ok? I went early so I would be back before Sofi woke up, she didn't wake you did she?" Troy had been worried about Gabriella, she wasn't sick very often but this cold had really taken her down.

She had taken the whole week off work, an unusual occurrence for workaholic Gabriella, but had barely managed to get out of bed for several of those days. Troy had felt frustrated that the protective man inside of him wasn't able to live out his needs, he needed to be with Gabriella and to take care of her, but work had prevented him from doing so.

Thank goodness for weekends.

Gabriella smiled, she loved being taken care of and nobody did it better than Troy.

"No, she didn't wake me, she's still fast asleep. You're freezing, come back to bed." She smiled bashfully, biting down on her lip as she ran her fingers over his shoulders lovingly. Troy grinned back at her, pressing another kiss forehead before placing one on the tip of her still swollen nose.

Picking up his coffee in one hand and keeping the other firmly gripped onto Gabriella, he led them towards their bedroom. It comforted him that she was obviously feeling better, his inner protective side could finally be somewhat laid to rest for the time being.

"I say we have twenty five more minutes before Sofia wakes us up. What do you think Babe, sleep or snuggles?" Troy asked jokingly as he pulled Gabriella's slender form towards him and snuggled against her under the warm covers of their bed.

"Hmm…snuggles, definitely snuggles."

~TG~

Later that day Gabriella had situated herself in the living room and surrounded herself with wedding brochures, venue information, color schemes and florist information. She knew how long it took to plan a wedding and was well aware of how far in advance plans needed to be made.

As she flicked through the information, making notes and mental pictures of how things would look she found herself struggling to find anything that inspired her in any of the brochures.

She groaned loudly as she pushed the brochures off her lap and onto the floor, and flopping backwards to lie on the couch.

"Are you ok Babe?" Troy asked tentatively, unsure as she whether his head would be snapped off for suggesting there was a problem, as had had been happening during wedding planning sessions.

Gabriella looked up at Troy's concerned face, it would be easy to tell him no and to put off planning for another day but she was well aware that time was running out.

"I just can't make any decisions. I know exactly what colors I want, but I can't find anything to fit around that. No flowers, no chair covers, and you know what's worse? At the moment I don't even have a venue in mind, none of the ones on that pile inspire me to want to get married there." Troy listened carefully to her rambles, making sure he had picked up upon every little piece of information that had flowed from her mouth, desperately trying to piece together a plan to relieve her of some of the stress.

Suddenly an idea hit him.

"Why don't you give me the color scheme and leave the rest of the planning to me? I'll leave you to book an amazing honeymoon if you let me deal with the service and reception. I promise you I won't plan anything crazy. I want this day to be perfect for you Gabriella, if you spend the next however many months stressing about it, you're never going to enjoy the day." Troy hoped his idea would at least be considered before being totally dismissed, he really did want Gabriella to have the dream wedding she had always wanted.

It took her a few minutes to contemplate what Troy had suggested. The thought of leaving the plans for her special day to him frightened her, but she soon realized it was not just her special day but also a day that belonged to Troy equally as much as it did her.

Taking a deep breath and leaping into uncertainty she answered.

"Okay, if you're sure that you can handle it? I'd really appreciate you taking it off my hands." Troy was shocked, he had never imagined she would agree but as she did he grinned widely.

He placed an excited chaste kiss against her lips and snuggled his face into her neck.

"I won't let you down, I promise you. This will be the day that you've always wanted." Troy's words soothed the stress that was running through her body, as she snuggled deeper into his arms she began to feel more and more relaxed.

It wasn't long before the feelings of love and content had melted away into semi sickness induced sleep.

"I wish mornings would get warmer," Gabriella complained as she and Troy made their way into Carpenter Law firm for an early morning appointment.

Gabriella had never been a winter girl, and while winters were more comfortable in New Mexico than in other states she had lived in, temperatures only slightly above freezing still haunted nights and early mornings until at least May.

"It won't be long before you complaining that you're too hot," Gabriella frowned at Troy's comment as she lifted Sofia from her stroller so that Troy could fold it up. The relationship they had meant that they could freely make fun of each other without either taking offence. It was, for them, the key aspect of keeping their relationship playful.

As they approached the desk the young secretary smiled at them, wondering in her mind what on earth such a happy family could be doing at an attorney's office.

"Good morning, how can I help you?" The young lady asked timidly, smiling up at Troy sweetly eliciting a frown from Gabriella.

Troy pulled out the appointment paper work from Sofia's diaper bag and presented it to the girl, politely smiling back at her before wrapping his arm tightly around Gabriella's waist.

"Mr. Carpenter will be with you shortly, please take a seat. May I offer you any tea or coffee?" She offered sweetly, handing the couple several choices of morning newspaper to keep them occupied for their wait.

Troy looked over at Gabriella, he knew she was still sick and desperately needed a coffee or two to get going in the morning.

"Gabriella will have a white coffee no sugar, please." Troy answered for his fiancé, knowing she would politely say no, not wanting to trouble the lady for anything that seemed above her contracted responsibilities.

Gabriella smiled slightly and snuggled herself into Troy's protective arms.

Today would be a difficult day; they were to begin the long process of having Gabriella legally adopt Sofia. Neither Troy nor Gabriella were naive to the fact that it would be a long, expensive and maybe even traumatic experience.

It wasn't long before a tall professional looking man entered the waiting area.

"Mr. Bolton, Miss Montez? Would you like to come this way?" Mr. Carpenter smiled at the family as he showed them into his comfortable office.

As Troy and Gabriella seated themselves comfortable on the couch, Sofia nestled into Gabriella's arms; Troy began to explain their situation.

He told of the woman in Mexico who had left the baby in his arms, how he returned to Albuquerque and found Gabriella and how attached the baby had become to her. He informed the middle aged Mr. Carpenter that their wedding was fast approached and outlined the reasons for needing his services.

"So as I understand this, Gabriella, you are wanting for legally adopt Sofia?" Mr. Carpenter spoke smoothly as he pulled out an information booklet and some forms that he handed to Troy.

Gabriella nodded happily, snuggling a sleeping Sofia tighter to her chest as Mr. Carpenter spoke again.

"I am assuming that the biological mother of Sofia is still alive?" Troy frowned; he hadn't even considered that the woman who had abandoned her daughter in his arms would ever become a problem.

He had thought they had excluded her from their lives forever…it obviously wasn't going to be that easy.

"I have never heard otherwise, not that there would be anyone to tell me. Is the fact that she's still around somewhere out there going to be a problem?" Troy asked nervously, knowing that the woman who had already ruined everything once, was just about to do it again.

Mr. Carpenter sighed, he wished that he could say it would be no problem but he knew better than to raise the hopes of such a sweet family as the one in front of him.

"Seeing as she is still alive, she must hand over all parental responsibility to you before the process can continue. Do you know where we could find her?" Troy frowned, he thought he had gone into this process with knowledge but he had no idea that they would have to track down the woman who so clearly wanted nothing to do with him or the daughter they had created together.

He had no idea what he was going to do.

"I have no idea where she can be found. I don't even know if she's still in the same city, I don't know her address…god what am I gonna do. This is terrible, she's going to stop us from doing this isn't she…she's ruined everything." Troy began t get frustrated at himself, wishing he had controlled himself all of those months ago and wishing he had never ran from Gabriella and his family.

Everything could have been so different.

Gabriella sensed what Troy was thinking, she knew this wouldn't be an easy process and hated to see Troy beating himself up for something he had virtually no control over.

"This isn't your fault Troy. I'll find her, I promise." Gabriella reached over and pressed her forehead against Troy's, not caring that the middle aged attorney was looking on at the scene with fierce intent. "I'll talk to the Mexican health board, I have all the birth details and they have to be able to give me a name, we'll find her Troy." Gabriella's comforting words penetrated deep into Troy's heart; she had always been the one who tried desperately to fix things, giving up everything to solve a problem and not resting until the solution was found.

Troy smiled at her and nodded his head, agreeing that this was the only way they were going to fix things. It would be a long road but it would be a road that they would undoubtedly take together.

~TG~

Saturday afternoon found Troy sat in his parent's living room, since moving into Gabriella's apartment Troy had made it routine to visit his parents every Saturday to catch up.

It was something Lucille looked forward to all week long.

"So, do you have any news for me this week Troy?" Lucille asked, biting into a piece of Victoria sponge that she had freshly baked that morning.

Troy chuckled to himself, he knew what kind of news she was fishing for but it would be a long time before that news came along.

"Mom seriously, Gabriella and I aren't even planning on having a baby yet, I told you that last week." He chuckled to himself again as he watched his mothers face turn from sweet smiling into shock and back again.

She patted her son's shoulder and shrugged her shoulders.

"Can you blame me for wanting another grandchild? Accidents happen so you never know, just thought I'd ask. All joking aside though Troy, how is Gabriella?" Lucille had always worried about Gabriella, but since the death of her mother she had taken on the role and worried about every aspect of her life.

"She's fine Ma. She's been stressed about the wedding plans and she's been sick with a cold, but she's getting better. She's actually signed over wedding day planning to me…" Lucille looked at her son wide eyed, not believing her sensible rational almost daughter in law had done something so crazy.

She couldn't quite figure out in her mind how this new plan was ever going to work.

"Why? Do you have any idea what she wants? It's her special day and I'd hate for her to be disappointed, are you really sure you want to do this Troy?" She asked somewhat frantically, running through ideas in her mind of possible ways she could make it so she did most of the planning rather than allowing her slightly adventurous son to do all the work.

Troy smiled, thinking about Gabriella and the big day that he was so desperately looking forward too. He loved his mother for her concern, but he sometimes wondered if she knew he had a serious side, a side that adored Gabriella to the point of giving her the world if she asked for it.

"I actually wanted to ask you about that, I was wondering if you knew where Marcia and Carlos got married?" Troy hoped that Lucille would knew the answer, he hoped that the place still existed and he hoped that he would be able to give Gabriella the day she'd always dreamed of.

Lucille grinned at her son, all of the worries she had of him not being able to plan the perfect wedding day melted away before her. The plan Troy was hatching was better than she could ever had imagined.

Lucille and Marcia had been friends ever since she had arrived in Albuquerque with a thirteen year old Gabriella. It hadn't been long since her husband and Gabriella's father Carlos had passed away; he had been a hardworking successful business man until all of a sudden he collapsed at work, a week later he died of a brain hemorrhage.

During their friendship Lucille and Marcia had talked in great lengths about the past, happy memories and special days that would last forever in their minds.

Her wedding day had been one of those days.

"They got married in The Nave at Riverside Church in New York City. I remember seeing photographs, it was a beautiful ceremony." Lucille smiled as Troy noted down the venue she had mentioned, taking note to call them as soon as he arrived back at the apartment and was out of Gabriella's earshot.

Having their wedding in New York had not been something Troy had planned for; but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed right. He knew how much Gabriella worshiped her parents and it broke him to know they would never get to see her get married.

His decision had been made.

~TG~

Meanwhile, Gabriella sat at the desk in her office knowing it wouldn't be long before she left this place behind. She was excited at the thought of getting a new job, but the losing the comfort of her current situation frightened her.

She looked at her appointments screen and noted she had no one scheduled for another thirty minutes.

Nervously, she picked up the phone and dialed a number that she had come to use often when caring for patients who had not long moved to America.

Thank goodness the Mexican Health Authority worked on Saturdays.

A sweet sounding lady answered the phone in Spanish, allowing Gabriella to explain who she was and what she needed from them. She passed on the required information.

"I don't think finding her should be a problem Miss. Montez, we do this regularly with much less information than you have given me. I will do the search now and email you over the contact details for you to pass on as soon as I find them." Gabriella was relieved to hear those words, but she electively decided to withhold the information from Troy. She dared not get his hopes up only to be disappointed if the search came up blank.

Just as she hung up the phone there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," she called cheerfully, not sure who she was expecting the person to be.

As the door opened Katelyn, the clinics receptionist, poked her head around the slightly open door.

"You have a visitor, would you like me to send him through?" Gabriella frowned, she had no idea who on earth could be visiting her at work, Troy was busy at Jack and Lucille's and she didn't really know any other men on a friendly basis.

"Um, sure go ahead." Gabriella replied, apprehensive but excited about just who would be coming around the door in a few seconds.

All of her theories were blown when a tall, dark, handsome man entered the room.

"Ethan? What on you doing here?" Gabriella asked shocked, she hadn't seen Ethan since her junior year of college, they had briefly dated but Gabriella's deep attachment to Troy had significantly held her back.

Their parting had been comfortable, neither said bad words and both agreed the time was just not right and had gone their separate ways.

"I've just moved back from North Carolina, I've been thinking about you a lot recently and just you know…wondering if maybe now is a better time?" It took Gabriella a few seconds to understand what Ethan was saying, it saddened her that he hadn't completely moved on from their exceptionally brief non-physical relationship.

She moved closer to him and rested her hand on his shoulder, smiling up at him sadly.

"I'm really sorry Ethan…I'm actually getting married in a few months." She held up her left hand to show Ethan the simple diamond ring before moving over to her desk and picking up a picture frame. "We've got a baby girl called Sofia, she's perfect." Gabriella looked down at the picture in the frame, Sofia's tiny face smiling back up at her happily…it had been a beautiful moment that Troy couldn't resist capturing on film.

Ethan sighed, he wasn't sure what he had been expecting when he showed up at the clinic. He knew a girl as pretty as Gabriella had probably moved on and it wasn't like they had dated for years. His feelings of disappointment did however resonate just as strongly through his body as he listened to her words.

"She really is beautiful, congratulations. I'm kind of glad you manage to move on, just kind of sad that it wasn't with me. Good luck with the wedding Gabriella, you'll look beautiful. Whoever the guy is…I hope he knows that he's lucky." With that he pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek before turning and leaving the clinic room without as much as a second look.

Gabriella sighed as the door closed behind Ethan.

"As if today couldn't get any weirder."

~TG~

Troy sat comfortably on the large bed he shared with Gabriella. He had surrounded himself with pictures, memorabilia and several clothing items that represented the life he had before he'd left.

He picked up a picture that had been taken by his mother one New Year's Eve, he and Gabriella had been lost in a passionate kiss and Lucille couldn't resist capturing the moment on film.

"_Troy!" Gabriella screeched loudly and giggles filled the air as Troy wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, picking her up and spinning her around in circles. _

"_Happy New Year Beautiful, it's going to be the greatest year ever." He placed a soft kiss against Gabriella's forehead and set her feet back down on the ground. _

_Gabriella looked up at Troy with sparkling eyes, she'd never imagined she would feel the way she felt about Troy. When they had first begun dating there was an undeniable attraction, but as their relationship blossomed the attraction had turned into love. _

"_I cannot believe you just did that in front of like you whole family!" Gabriella giggled as she snuggled closer to Troy, the chilly Albuquerque winter wind biting at any exposed skin on her body. _

_She shivered slightly, enjoying the feeling of Troy's arms wrapping themselves tighter around her body protectively. _

"_I love you Beautiful," Troy whispered against the soft skin on her face, placing a delicate kiss on her tanned skin as the words left his lips. _

_Gabriella smiled._

"_I love you too."_

Troy threw the picture back down on the bed, he knew that he and Gabriella had moved on from what he'd done, but his feelings of hurt and regret had never completely passed.

Never once had he regretted having Sofia in his life, he just regretted the way she had come. He wished so hard that she had been Gabriella's and that they didn't have to deceive their closest friends.

Troy's fingers ran over a movie ticket stub, he chuckled as he picked it up remembering the very first date that he and Gabriella shared.

_He stood nervously on the doorstep on the Montez household, his palms slightly sweaty and his breathing a little quick._

_It had taken him three years to ask Gabriella on a date; in his mind she was too good for him, too beautiful, too successful and too amazing. The previous day he had finally plucked up the courage to ask her to a movie followed by dinner. _

"_Good evening Troy, would you like to come inside? Gabriella is almost ready." Marcia Montez spoke softly, smiling at Troy's nervousness before moving aside and allowing him to make himself comfortable in the lounge area. _

_He had been in this house many times before, but it just seemed different now. He was here for the first time as Gabriella's future boyfriend and not as her friend. _

"_Hey Troy," Gabriella greeted him sweetly as she walked into the lounge. She was dressed in a deep red sundress matched with a white cardigan and red flats. _

_She looked truly beautiful._

"_You look amazing, you really do. Are you ready to go?" Troy asked, his nervousness building as he got up and led her towards the front door, grasping hold of her hand tentatively and lacing their fingers together. _

"_Yeah, I'm ready to go." Gabriella smiled happily as she allowed Troy to lead her down the path to the car. _

_It was definitely going to be an amazing date. _

That evening they had watched a movie and moved on to a quiet dinner at a local diner. Troy had gotten her home just in time for curfew.

It was the night he had finally asked her to be his girlfriend, the first night that he had kissed her goodnight and the first time he admitted to himself he didn't want to ever be without her.

Troy picked up a red scarf that sat loosely folded on the bed; slowly he brought it to his nose and inhaled deeply.

He knew it didn't smell like her, it hadn't smelt like her for years.

It had been the only item that belonged to Gabriella that he took with him when he left. Her sweet scent had always comforted him, the thought of being away from that frightened him more than the thought of leaving itself.

He knew that if he took something small she was unlikely to notice. As he was leaving he had picked it up from the hallway, stuffing it in his backpack before leaving his world behind.

He closed his eyes, wiling away the tears that were forming in his eyes.

Troy Bolton never cried, he never displayed his emotions that way.

But as he thought about the implications of his decision, all he could feel was pain.

What would they do if they could never find the woman they were looking for? Would their family be destroyed? Would Gabriella call off the marriage and move onto a man she knew had been completely faithful?

The tears rolled down his cheeks as he realized…what if he had ruined everything?

**Thank you very much for reading, please don't forget to review…it really will only take you a couple of seconds. **


	13. New York State Of Mind

**I'm not even going to go into a long discussion about reviews again…with almost no reviews last chapter I am less than motivated. **

**This chapter is a little different, its Troy centered and follows him planning their wedding, there may or may not be some Gabriella later on. **

**pmont who reviewed this chapter this morning, I'm sorry that I cannot update regularly but I am actually in the middle of my degree! I genuinely don't have much free to actually have a life outside of studying. If your wating to read a story thats going to be updated every month then this isnt the story for you! Thanks for your review anyway. **

~hsm~

_~ Marriage is like putting your hand into a bag of snakes in the hope of pulling out an eel. ~ _Leonardo da Vinci

~hsm~

"Thank you for flying with us this morning Sir!" A smiling air stewardess spoke sweetly as Troy stepped off the plane and onto the sheltered walkway.

He had made the three hour flight from Albuquerque to New York to spend a few days with Chad away from home. Both had told their girls the weekend would be full of destructive man activities.

However, the trip would actually be filled with top secret wedding planning.

As the automatic doors opened into the arrivals lounge Troy's eyes wondered in search of Chad, he had arrived the previous day from Arizona and had told Troy he would be waiting for him with their hire car when he arrived.

Troy smiled as he waited for Chad to appear, the memories of the morning flooding back into his mind as he thought about what Gabriella and Sofia would be doing right now.

Troy had grown more affectionate with Gabriella since his return to Albuquerque. His love for her had grown immeasurably and he wanted to make sure she knew it.

~hsm~

_Troy opened his eyes slowly, adjusting himself to the familiar surroundings. He smiled to himself as he remembered the previous night. He and Gabriella enjoyed regular, often daily, love making but there was something different about the previous night. _

_He snuggled deeper into Gabriella's soft chest, relishing the feeling of her smooth naked breasts against his cheeks. _

"_I love you," Troy whispered against her skin, accentuating his words with delicate kisses across her chest. _

_Gabriella smiled as she awake to the sound of his voice, she would never tire of hearing those words. Raising her hand, she gently ran her fingers through his hair before cupping his cheek with her small hand. _

"_I love you too; I can't believe you're leaving today. What's this guy's vacation all about anyway?" Troy chuckled as he moved up to rest his head next to hers, it was no secret that she would miss him while he was away as would he, they had barely been apart since his return. _

"_Just me and Chad wanting to spend some time together, have a bit of fun you know? With both of us on spring break, it's the perfect time to go." Troy lied through his teeth, desperate to keep the real reason for the trip a secret. _

_He wrapped his arms around Gabriella, pulling her body onto his and snuggling her head in the crook of his neck. _

"_I'll miss you Beautiful, but I'll only be gone a couple of days." _

_Troy pondered what had made the previous night so much more special than others, he came to the realization that his love for Gabriella was growing by the day. He was going to spend the rest of his life with her and making love to her last night has been a deep expression of their growing love. _

_He hoped that would never change. _

~hsm~

"Yo dude, wake up!" Chad shouted obnoxiously as he waved his hand madly in front of Troy's face. He had been so deep in thought of Gabriella that he hadn't even noticed Chad approaching,

"Hey man, nice to see you," the paid shared a manly hug before leaving the terminal and heading towards the car.

Although they hadn't spent much time together since Troy had come home, they had picked up right where they had left off. The time apart hadn't affected their friendship, in fact knowing being able to spend time with each other again had only brought them closer.

"What's the plan then Mr. Wedding planner? I can't believe your getting married Dude! This is so awesome and to Gabriella! You're getting married to Gabriella!" Chad laughed excitedly at himself as he rambled, Troy shook his head at the crazy man he called his best friend.

"I set up a meeting with the minister at the Riverside church, he recommended a florist that does a lot of their weddings, and we're seeing her this afternoon. We also need to find a directory and search out some good wedding photographers, caters and someone to make the cake. I need to get most of this done while we're here…I don't want to come back, Ella will start getting suspicious." Troy listed off the things in his mind he knew he needed to get done. There would be no time for partying or getting into trouble, he needed this wedding to be perfect.

Chad's eyes widened in shock, he just thought they would be scoping things out but it seemed Troy had much more than that planned. He had planned for drinking in bars, strip clubs and maybe catching one of those burlesque shows he had heard so much about…but it looked like that wasn't going to happen.

"No fun? Dude, just wedding planning? The whole time? What about fun?" Chad asked desperately, hoping that Troy would throw a couple of the required meetings out of the window to enable time for hot girls and beer.

He should have known better.

"Chad, this is the most important day in Gabriella's life. I need this to be perfect!" Troy replied sternly, he knew that Chad was just messing around and would never disrespect his own wife or Gabriella but the thought of messing this up touched a nerve for Troy.

Chad smiled to himself, he had always known how committed Troy was to Gabriella but it was time like this that he really realized how important she was. He was willing to throw away several nights of hot girls, beer and good music to make Gabriella happy. He quickly realized that Gabriella was the very centre of Troy's world, the one thing that kept him going through all of the hard times.

"Yeah ok, wedding planning only! Good thing I know a good cake when I taste on right?"

There it was right there, his best friend Chad Danforth…food obsessive.

~hsm~

Troy and Chad sat around a large meeting table facing Reverend Carmichael. Troy had been amazed as he had entered the Riverside Church; it hadn't changed from the pictures take at Gabriella's parents wedding all those years ago.

Reverend Carmichael was an elderly gentleman, Troy guessed him to be somewhere in his early seventies. He had explained that he had been reverend at the church since he was just twenty five years old and was more than experienced in hosting extra special weddings.

Troy pulled out the picture that Lucille had given him and handed it to the Reverend, explaining that this was exactly what he wanted the day to be.

The Reverend studied the picture carefully, running his fingers over the figures of the bride and groom standing at the altar.

"Carlos and Marcia Montez…" The reverend spoke slowly smiling down at the picture, fond memories of the couple filling his mind.

Troy looked towards Chad, shock written across his face that the elderly man in front of him had named Gabriella's parents from a grainy photo taken thirty seven years ago.

"Yeah…that's my fiancés parents…" Troy spoke softly, it saddened his heart to wonder what Gabriella would be thinking if she was sat there with him. He wondered what she would be feeling, would she be hurt? Sad? Would she want to know about the day?

He shook his head slowly; suddenly devastated that Gabriella's father wouldn't be walking her down the aisle.

A wide smile grew on the Reverend's face, he had always wondered of the life that the couple would lead; it warmed his heart to know that they brought a child into the world together.

"Wonderful, just wonderful! How are they these days?" The room feel silent, Troy's eyes diverted from the happy Reverend to his lap as he twiddled his fingers nervously, what did he say to that.

Chad placed a comforting hand on Troy's shoulder, encouraging him to share the tragic fate of Carlos and Marisa with the Reverend.

"Um, actually sir…they have both passed away now. Carlos died suddenly when Gabriella was thirteen and Marissa sadly passed away about three years ago of TB." Troy took a deep breath, it pained him to share the information he knew still broke Gabriella.

Her parents had always meant to much to her; and while she had healed from the death of her father, he knew the death of her mother would always haunt her.

The Reverend lowered his head and closed his eyes; it was moments like these that caused him to question whether everything he believed in could possibly be true. How could a couple so happy ad so in love end up being so tragically separated?

"Whatever you want to make this wedding perfect, I will make sure it happens. They were a special couple; I know that their daughter must be devastated. Whatever you believe will make this day special for her, please inform me and we will make sure that it happens." Troy smiled up at the elderly man; he quickly realized the impact that Carlos ad Marissa must have had on him.

This day was going to be special, he knew if he didn't make sure of it…the elderly Reverend opposite him would.

~hsm~

Troy flopped down on the plush hotel room bed, relishing in the comfort feeling soothing his aching muscles.

It had been a difficult day, a day filled with happiness that had been tainted by an overwhelming feeling of sadness.

Picking up his phone, he pressed down on speed dial one. He hoped that it would take her a couple of minutes to answer; he needed time to compose himself and prevent his brain from revealing the true reason for the trip.

"_Hello?" _Gabriella's sweet voice filled Troy's ears causing a chill to run down his spine, he really did love her voice.

"Hey Babe, just checking in to see how your day has been." Troy hoped that Gabriella couldn't sense the stress that had been building within him.

He had never realized how much he missed Marissa Montez until today; he was still haunted by the thought that she died thinking that he didn't love Gabriella.

"_Well, we haven't done much. We went to the park and Sofi played in the bathtub and we went to Grandma and Grandpa's for Lunch. I'm working tomorrow so your parents are taking care of Sofi," _Troy knew that Gabriella worked too hard, he was sure it would be something that would never ever change. She had always been a sufferer of stress, and Troy hoped that by taking the wedding planning off her hands she would finally be able to relax a little.

"That's great, has Sofi been ok?" In recent weeks Sofia had become somewhat hard to handle. She was becoming her own little person with wants and opinions and struggled to understand that sometimes things just don't go her way. She had latched herself to Gabriella almost permanently, leaving it impossible for Gabriella to go or do anything without her.

"_She's been fine Babe, really she has. It's just a phase, it'll pass. Hey Sofi, do you want to say hello to Daddy?" _Troy chuckled at Gabriella's tries to get their daughter to make some noise that Troy could interpret as a hello…sadly her efforts failed.

Troy and Gabriella had fallen into a pattern of shortening Sofia to Sofi, losing the extra syllable in conversation seemed to make life much easier.

"Don't work about it El, just knowing she's been a good girl is enough to keep me happy. How are you doing?" Troy asked cautiously, he knew that Gabriella hated to be home alone and constantly worried that she would be struggling without him by her side.

"_Yeah, I'm doing ok. I miss you…but you'll be home in a couple of days right?" _Troy's eyebrows knitted together, the vulnerability in her voice disturbed him. It would always go back to this, Gabriella's deep subconscious worry that maybe one day Troy wouldn't come home.

"Baby, of course I'll be home. I'll be home before you know it! We have a couple of things planned for tomorrow, and then I'll be back the next day. Just two more sleeps Babe, then I'll be home." Troy loved how much Gabriella needed him. He didn't however love the thought of Gabriella alone in their big bed trying to get to sleep without him.

"_I feel so rude! I haven't even asked you about your day? Have you had fun?" _Gabriella's now cheerful voice filled Troy's ears once again, forcing him to think quickly as to what to tell her in order to keep the day a secret.

"It's been a really good day. We've just chilled around' played some golf and some video games in the hotel room. Tonight we're going to this ranch style restaurant a little out of town for dinner…should be a good laugh." Gabriella giggled at their choice of venue; it was typical Chad to pick somewhere that was almost certain to have barbeque ribs, burgers and cheesecake.

"_Ok, well I'll let go then. Sounds like you have a big night planned! Please don't drink too much and please try and keep safe. Remember that I love you, and I can't wait for you to be home." _Troy smiled to himself, he loved listening to her tell him he loved her. It was something that would never grow old.

"I love you too Babe, make sure Sofi behaves! Goodnight sweetheart, sleep well." With that Gabriella ended the conversation with a quick '_I'll try' _allowing Troy to continue on the evening that was inevitably to be filled with deep fried food and large portions of meat.

~hsm~

Troy and Chad sat uncomfortably in the back room of the florist the next morning. They had already been sat there for an hour and forty five minutes while Troy vetoed what seemed like thousands of different flowers that he knew Gabriella wouldn't like.

"Ok Troy, look…you have a very specific color scheme here and we're running out of options." The frustrated florist Melissa spoke tightly as she threw down the pile of pictures that Troy had rejected.

Gabriella had picked the color scheme while she was still in charge of planning and Troy knew that it was something not up for change. She had chosen lilac, baby blue and white…the former two being her two favorite colors.

"I have one last combination I can show you…after that I'm out of ideas." Melissa picked up a selection of photographs and arranged them on the table, "These are Snowflake and Vendela roses, and they have been mixed with Lisianthus, Stocks, Calla lilies and Trachelium. I really think these would be perfect for the day that you want Troy; I just hope that you agree." Troy studied the photographs given to him by Melissa, flicking through the pages of the scrapbook and examining the arrangements she had made with the flowers in the pictures.

He closed his eyes, imagining the Nave at the Riverside church and trying to place the arrangements around the room. This had been a ritual he had undertaken for all of the flowers that had been shown to him, it wasn't until now that the pieces of the picture came together.

"I think they're perfect! Can I leave it with you to forward me pictures of possible arrangements and I will have them checked over with one of Gabriella's bridesmaids?" Troy asked hopefully; as much as he enjoyed the meeting with Melissa, he wondered how much spending another hour is a shop filled with flowers would affect his masculinity.

Chad had remained quiet throughout the meeting. He didn't feel that he had an opinion to offer up but was taking great joy in watching Troy stress so much over flowers.

"Can we please eat now?" Chad whined like a small child. It had reached 1 O'clock in the afternoon and Chad was more than ready to tuck into a nice big lunch.

Troy nodded silently, he knew better than to argue with a hungry Chad.

After a few of searching the pair settled themselves in a small, cozy Italian restaurant. Troy browsed the menu, searching for something small to allow his stomach to recover from the feast they had consumed the night before. Chad however, had finished searching the menu when he had spotted the Italian Meatball Pizza.

As they tucked into their meals a tall slim figure approached their table.

"Troy Bolton and Chad Danforth?" The figure asked cautiously, nervous that the men at the table were not who she thought they were.

Troy and Chad frowned at each other for a second before looking up at the figure. Their eyes grew wide and the shock of the figure before them caused Chad to momentarily choke of his pizza.

"Taylor?" The lady before them nodded slowly, mirroring their shocked expressions.

The last Taylor had heard Troy was presumed dead, she hadn't spoken to Gabriella in years. Their argument had left her bitter and she hadn't bothered nor cared to enquire as to whether Troy had ever been found.

"I thought you were supposed to be dead," Taylor's blunt remarked surprised them; she had always been the tactful and thoughtful one of the group. Neither Troy nor Chad were sure what had caused the argument between Taylor and Gabriella but they were sure it had been ugly.

"Nice to see you too Taylor, what brings you to New York?" Troy asked, he knew she had moved to Europe to get married but he wondered if maybe she was back for good. He regretted his question almost instantly, having the knowledge of Taylor being in New York permanently meant sharing it with Gabriella…that was guaranteed to stir up trouble.

Taylor scoffed at Troy's question, she had been living the high life in Germany why on earth would anyone imagine she would want to come back. In her eyes she had it all; the money, the nice house, the days at the spa, she looked back on her old life in America with disgust.

"Don't be a fool Troy, of course I'm not here to live. My husband Ambrosius Amsel is a very successful German business man and I have everything, why would I want to be here?" Troy soon realized why Gabriella and Taylor had fought, Gabriella had a strong dislike for people who believed they were better than others and Taylor had become one of those people.

Troy shook his head, he couldn't believe sweet Taylor Mckessie had become the horrible, bitter and self absorbed Taylor Amsel. He hadn't realized changing a name could have such an impact.

"Well that's a shame Taylor, there's a lot you're missing out on here. Gabriella and I have a baby girl, Sofia and Chad is married to an awesome woman ad they have a baby boy. What do you have Taylor? Money…what about friends, do you have any of those?" Taylor's eyes widened in shock, not only at the fact that Troy and Gabriella had procreated since she had been away but at the way Troy was speaking to her…no one had ever spoken to her like that before.

She huffed loudly, storming back to the table opposite and grabbing the arm of the man sat at it.

"Come on Ambrosius, we're leaving," and she did.

Troy and Chad sat in silence for a few minutes, taking in what had just unfolded I front of their eyes.

It was Chad that broke the silence first.

"Ambrosius? Isn't that the dog from the labyrinth?" Troy tried to contain his laughter, hoping to preserve the seriousness of the situation at hand but his desperate efforts failed.

His face broke into a huge grin and tears of laughter fell down his cheeks, his sides beginning to ache from laughing.

As the pair calmed themselves down to continue eating their meals, Troy managed to pull together enough strength to make one final serious comment.

"Can we please not tell Gabriella about this, just for now?" Troy asked, hoping that next time Chad saw Gabriella he would be able to refrain from sharing his obviously hilarious joke.

Chad nodded briskly, he would have to try is very hardest not to gloat about his moment of quick wit.

~hsm~

The two days of planning had gone much quicker than Troy had anticipated and there was still essential parts of the wedding unexplored. Although he had managed to secure the perfect venue and the flowers; he was yet to find a baker, a photographer or a caterer.

He thought that if he went home without everything explored he would feel stressed, but for some strange reason he felt oddly relaxed. It didn't bother him that he would have to make phone calls, send lengthy emails and maybe even return at a later day to finish planning the perfect day.

He just wanted to get home and be with his girls.

"Don't be a stranger man! Let me know when you're going to be in town and we'll meet up." Troy spoke kindly to the friend that had been at his side through the stresses of the previous days.

They both shared a manly hug, as they usually did on parting, before going their separate ways to catch their flights home.

As Troy boarded the plane anticipation grew within him. It had been the longest he had been away from Gabriella since his return to Albuquerque and the first time he had ever been away from Sofia, he couldn't wait to have them in his arms again.

The three hour flight home was just like most others; cold, boring and claustrophobic. Troy exited the plane as quickly as he could, swiftly making his way through the terminal to baggage claim.

He ripped his bags from the conveyor belt, more desperate than ever to get to Gabriella knowing that she would be just on the other side of the sliding door before him.

As the door opened he was greeted by an ocean of people, all waiting for their loved ones to return home. His eyes searched for Gabriella within the crowd but it was her voice that found him first.

"Is that Daddy I can see? Can you see him baby girl?" Troy turned to his left quickly, greeted by the sight of Gabriella holding their giggling daughter high up in her arms so that she could see above the crowd.

He rushed over to them, not caring about all of the other people around him, and brought Gabriella tightly into his arms, lifting her feet from the floor.

"I've missed you so much," Gabriella giggled at Troy; she had missed him too but he really had only been gone for three days, the greeting they shared would have made it seem like that had been separated for months on end.

Troy gently put her feet back down onto the floor before pressing a light yet passionate kiss against her lips. The blissful moment was interrupted by Sofia leaning her forehead against the join of their lips, a technique she had developed to get her parents attention back on herself.

"Don't worry Princess, I hadn't forgotten about you!" Troy took Sofia from Gabriella's arms and lifted her up above his head, bringing her down quickly to place kisses all over her giggling face.

As the family made their way towards the car, Troy realized how happy he had become over the last nine months.

He had always wondered whether he would return to Albuquerque, and if he did what would happen when he got there. He never imagined life would be as good as this.

After strapping a reluctant Sofia into her car seat, Troy settled himself into the passenger seat of the large car.

"It's great to be home, I really missed my own bed." Gabriella giggled again, she had to admit that it was really amazing that he was home but the three days had gone quickly.

She leaned over slowly and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek, brushing her fingers against the stubble that had been left to grow.

"You need a shave," Gabriella smiled as she turned back to the road and began the short drive home.

~hsm~

Troy snuggled deeper into his fiancé as they settled into bed. They had finally managed to settle an overexcited Sofia, Troy's absence and homecoming had had an expected affect on her normal early toddler behavior.

"I'm gonna ask you something and I don't want you to get mad ok?" Troy asked Gabriella, the question had been burning in his mind for a while now but no moment had seemed like the right one to bring it up.

Gabriella frowned wondering what the question could be. He had already asked him to marry her, surely there couldn't possibly be more big questions to come?

Gabriella couldn't have been more wrong.

"Ok…" she replied slowly, hoping Troy it wouldn't take long to come out with the question.

Troy took a deep breath, he wasn't sure why he was nervous but he didn't want Gabriella to think that he was putting any pressure on her.

"I'm just going to come right out with it, when are we going to have another baby?" Troy let out a sigh of relief as the words escaped his lips, his shoulder tensing as he waited for Gabriella's reply.

To say she was shocked was an understatement, they had briefly talked about having more children in the future but nothing so forward as to selecting a specific time frame.

"A baby? Troy, Sofi isn't even one yet! We're not in the right situation for another baby! Look, I'm not mad ok? I could never be mad at your for wanting to extend our family, but now just isn't the right time and I don't know when that right time will be." Gabriella gently put both her palms against Troy's cheeks, kissing his lips smoothly in hope of soothing his disappointment.

She knew that Troy had always wanted a large family, and he had never been a taking things slowly kind of guy.

"What happens if there's never a right time?" Troy asked quietly, allowing his inner fears to be realized out loud.

Gabriella gasped slightly, she had no idea Troy was worried they would never get to have a baby together. She had always believed he was an optimist, but his pessimistic comment shocked her. What had ever given him the idea there wouldn't be a right time?

"Baby, there will always be a right time. I tell you what, when Sofi is settled into daycare, when I'm settled into a new job and once we're married…we'll start being less careful and if it happens it happens. By then maybe we will be living somewhere bigger and life will be more settled and maybe that will be the right time. I promise you Troy, we will have a baby together…a really, really beautiful baby." Troy pressed his lips to Gabriella's lovingly, pulling her body flush against his.

No more words needed to be said as the love they shared between them was expressed in the most physical of ways.

**So there you have it! Don't forget to show me some love! **


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